Technical note: Preparation improvement of charred cadaveric viscera using sandison’s rehydrating solution for histological analysis

Abstract

In forensic evaluation of charred corpses, internal detrimental signs may result as more significant of those observed during external examination and is often arduous to state if a victim was exposed to fire before or after death. When the histological analysis of the remaining internal viscera is necessary, the massive destruction caused by the lesion, the charring and the coarctation of the samples don't allow to give further information or to determine the remaining organic components of the viscera. This limit is determined by the intrinsic characteristics of this thermal lesivity of self-maintenance even after the exitus of the subject, worsening the initial detrimental framework. The Authors, with the purpose of improving the microscopic visualization of the samples collected from cadavers with peculiar deterioration, as in case of carbonization, suggest the use of a specific technical protocol based on the use of Sandison's rehydrating solution since the samples treated with this solution showed, at microscopic examination, a substantial histological-morphological improvement.

Technical note: A comparison between rehydrating solutions in the pretreatment of mummified and corified skin for forensic microscopic examination

“…In detail, they are able to remove the so-called paradox effect, i.e. the tendency of markedly dehydrated connective tissue to turn red (abnormal staining) instead of green [ 29 , 30 ].…”