Evaluation of four digestive methods for extracting diatoms

Mei, Ming; Meng, Xiangying; Wang, Enyin

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.08.022

Cited by 52 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The "diatom test" is based on the recovery of the siliceous cell wall diatoms in high concentration in the organs of drowned persons because diatoms pass through the alveoli into the great circulation. A great number of tests have been proposed to support a confirmation or exclusion of drowning [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. In the case of corpse putrefaction the diagnosis of drowning is rather difficult, for this purpose the diatom analysis could provide supplementary evidence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Procedure for Diatom Extraction in the Diagnosis of Drowning

Fucci¹

2012

Clin Exp Pharmacol

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A simple and economical procedure for the destruction of human organic material for the diatom examination is presented.The Author has tested a minimal amount of H 2 SO 4 diluted solution to detect diatoms in several tissues from human corpses under crime investigation, immersed in the sea and river water.The method was compared with a traditional method that includes digestion with a large amount of strong mixture of sulphuric and nitric acid (90%).The new procedure showed that all siliceous frustules of sea and river diatoms are more resistant to the H 2 SO 4 diluted treatment and are still recognizable after digestion, and observation under the micrscope is better than the other procedure.Moreover, the microscopical observation of amoeboid protozoa (radiolarians) was also possible.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Procedure for Diatom Extraction in the Diagnosis of Drowning

Fucci¹

2012

Clin Exp Pharmacol

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“…The diatom species are then identified using a light microscope, and the site of drowning is estimated from the ecology of the diatom [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. However, if the victim drowned in water containing few diatoms, it is difficult to determine whether the drowning took place in fresh or seawater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of electrolyte analysis of pleural effusion to diagnosis of drowning

et al. 2012

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We measured concentrations of sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) in pleural effusion from forensic autopsy cases to examine whether they were useful for a diagnosis of drowning. We analyzed a total of 51 cases (15 seawater drowning, 10 freshwater drowning, and 26 non-drowning), and determined the following reference values. If the concentration of Na or Cl is under 65 mEq/l, a diagnosis of freshwater drowning can be made. If the concentration of Na is higher than 175 mEq/l, or that of Cl is higher than 155 mEq/l, or that of Ca is higher than 16 mg/dl, or that of Mg is higher than 15 mg/dl, a diagnosis of seawater drowning can be made. We recommend that pleural effusion from the left and the right thoracic cavities should be collected and analyzed separately because large differences may be observed between each side in the case of drowning. If one side corresponds to the reference value for seawater or freshwater drowning and the other side does not, a diagnosis of drowning can still be made according to the obtained value.

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“…Peabody [1] acknowledges the possibility of diatom extraction from clothing for this specific use, but to our knowledge no other (scientific) literature expands on this. Instead most papers focus on the use of diatoms for diagnosing death by drowning [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] or other forensic applications such as the comparison of diatoms in soil [11] or in man made materials (fillers, filters, match heads, etc.) [12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%