Use of cadaveric vitreous humor as an innovative substrate for diatoms research and forensic diagnosis of drowning. 2022

Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Per La Salute, Laboratorio di Istopatologia Forense e Microbiologia Medico Legale, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, 20133, Milano, Italy.

The search for diatoms is the test that most of all may contribute to the forensic diagnosis of drowning. Diatoms can be extracted through different methods, which are all complex and long. In this preliminary study, we assessed human vitreous humor as an innovative substrate on which to research diatoms. Sampling and analyses were performed on 3 groups of 10 corpses each. The first one was composed of drowned victims. The second one of victims of traffic accidents with subsequent projection in water; based on the severe traumatic injuries reported at autopsy, we considered such victims as ideally assimilable to bodies immersed in water postmortem. The third group was composed of subjects who died for natural causes and without any relationship with water. The vitreous humor was centrifugated and cytocentrifuged and spotted on two different histological slides: one was left blank and the other one was assessed with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Microscopic observation successfully revealed diatoms in all cases of the first group; in the second group diatoms were not detected in 6 cases; in the third group, no diatoms at all were observed. Diatoms were always qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with those found in the corresponding viscera and waters, which had been investigated through classical acid digestion. Our analyses have demonstrated that the vitreous humor behaves in a completely similar way to the other viscera in cases of drowning. Although further investigations are necessary, vitreous humor has proved to be an innovative, suitable, and reliable substrate for the forensic research of diatoms.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008168 Lung Either of the pair of organs occupying the cavity of the thorax that effect the aeration of the blood. Lungs
D002102 Cadaver A dead body, usually a human body. Corpse,Cadavers,Corpses
D004332 Drowning Death that occurs as a result of anoxia or heart arrest, associated with immersion in liquid. Drownings
D004801 Eosine Yellowish-(YS) A versatile red dye used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, etc., and as tissue stain, vital stain, and counterstain with HEMATOXYLIN. It is also used in special culture media. Eosin,Eosine Yellowish,Tetrabromofluorescein,Acid Red 87,C.I. Acid Red 87,Eosin (yellowish) (free acid),Eosin Y,Eosine,Eosine Yellowish-(YS), Dipotassium Salt,Eosine Yellowish-(YS), Potassium, Sodium Salt
D006416 Hematoxylin A dye obtained from the heartwood of logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum Linn., Leguminosae) used as a stain in microscopy and in the manufacture of ink. Hydroxybrazilin,Haematoxylon,Hematoxiline,Hemotoxylin,Hydroxybrasilin
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014822 Vitreous Body The transparent, semigelatinous substance that fills the cavity behind the CRYSTALLINE LENS of the EYE and in front of the RETINA. It is contained in a thin hyaloid membrane and forms about four fifths of the optic globe. Vitreous Humor,Bodies, Vitreous,Body, Vitreous,Humor, Vitreous,Humors, Vitreous,Vitreous Bodies,Vitreous Humors
D014867 Water A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Hydrogen Oxide
D017377 Diatoms The common name for the phylum of microscopic unicellular STRAMENOPILES. Most are aquatic, being found in fresh, brackish, and salt water. Diatoms are noted for the symmetry and sculpturing of their siliceous cell walls. They account for 40% of PHYTOPLANKTON, but not all diatoms are planktonic. Bacillariophyta,Bacillariophytas,Diatom
D049429 Forensic Pathology The application of pathology to questions of law. Pathology, Forensic

Related Publications

Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
January 2016, Journal of forensic sciences,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
June 1999, Harefuah,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
October 1972, Journal of forensic sciences,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
July 2007, Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan),
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
September 2023, Journal of analytical toxicology,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
July 2002, Forensic science international,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
December 1983, Bollettino della Societa italiana di biologia sperimentale,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
January 1968, Zacchia,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
October 2007, Journal of analytical toxicology,
Stefano Tambuzzi, and Guendalina Gentile, and Paolo Bailo, and Salvatore Andreola, and Riccardo Zoja
May 2016, Journal of analytical toxicology,
Copied contents to your clipboard!