The Potential of Light Microscopic Features of the Oral Mucosa in Predicting Post-mortem Interval

Abstract

Objectives: The post-mortem interval (PMI) refers to the amount of time elapsed between death and discovery of the body. This study aimed to evaluate light microscopic cellular changes in the oral mucosa and identify the potential of this method for predicting PMI. Methods: This prospective study was conducted between July 2016 and January 2018 at the Institute of Dental Sciences, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, India. A total of 150 post-mortem (including 75 gingival and 75 buccal mucosa samples) and 40 ante-mortem (including 20 gingival and 20 buccal mucosa samples) tissue samples were compared using haematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and van Gieson stains. Microscopic changes in the epithelium and connective tissue were categorised according to PMI stage as early (<12.5 hours since death), intermediate (12.5–20.5 hours since death) or late (>20.5 hours since death). Results: Most epithelial cellular changes occurred early, except for arc-shaped nuclei and epithelial shredding which were intermediate and late changes, respectively. However, microscopic changes in the connective tissue were only observable at ≥12.5 hours. There was a progressive decrease in intensity in van Gieson stains and an increase in intensity in PAS stains as PMI increased. Several microscopic features were found to be significant predictors of PMI including epithelial homogenisation, cytoplasmic vacuolation, nuclear degeneration, arc-shaped nuclei, chromatin clumping, red blood cell clumping and lysis, melanin incontinency, myofibril degeneration, salivary gland acini degeneration and epithelial connective tissue separation (P <0.050 each). Conclusion: These findings indicate that microscopic evaluation of the oral mucosa may be helpful for PMI prediction. KEYWORDS Post-mortem Changes; Light Microscopy; Oral Mucosa; Epithelial Cells; Lamina Propria; Salivary Glands; Histocytochemistry; Periodic Acid-Schiff Reaction; India.

Histogical changes in oral mucosa (gingiva) as a method for estimating post-mortem interval: A literature review

“…The time intervals since death were < 12.5, 12.5–20.5, and > 20.5 h. The authors examined epithelial changes, connective tissue, and degeneration in the buccal area. ( Patro et al, 2021 ) Histological changes such as homogenisation, cytoplasmic vacuolisation, nuclear shrinkage, and chromatin clumping in cells were observed in tissues at < 12.5 h. Similar findings were detected at intervals of 12.5–20.5 and > 20.5 h, although to a greater extent. Degeneration of the acinar mucosa occurred at intervals of 12.5–20.5 and > 20.5 h.( Patro et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Epithelial surface cell evaluation involves the examination of vacuolisation, cell outline, homogeneity, nuclear outline, nuclear vacuolisation, chromatin clumping, karyorrhexis, pyknosis, karyolysis, epithelial cell separation, antibody-antigen interaction, and loss of tissue architecture. ( Muthukrishnan et al, 2018 , Patro et al, 2021 ).…”

“…After death, chemical or physical changes that occur in tissues until decomposition can be used to determine the PMI. ( Patro et al, 2021 , Yadav et al, 2015 ) There are various methods for estimating PMI, such as physical (algor mortis and livor mortis), microbiological (decomposition), biochemical (electrolyte concentration and enzyme activity), and entomological and psychochemical (rigor mortis) changes. ( Mahalakshmi et al, 2016 ).…”

Performance Evaluation of L1-Norm-Based Blind Deconvolution after Noise Reduction with Non-Subsampled Contourlet Transform in Light Microscopy Images

“…Light microscopy images are also widely used to identify post-mortem intervals, which collectively refer to the phenomena appearing after the death of an animal. Patro et al [62] observed cellular changes in light microscopy images of oral tissues during the postmortem interval. They analyzed the ecological changes in various oral tissues; however, the importance of acquiring more precise and stable images in observing the connective tissue was mentioned.…”

Gēnu un gēnu proteīnu izpēte dažādu šķeltņu skartos audos. Promocijas darbs

“…Kerge et al, 2018;Temple et al, 2014), cukura diabēta gadījumā(Seifi et al, 2014;Jajarm et al, 2008) vai saistībā ar pēcnāves izmaiņām mutes dobuma audos(Patro et al, 2021). Sejas šķeltņu audu saistība ar iekaisuma procesu ir iepriekš aprakstīta citos pētījumos(Seidel et al, 2022).…”