Documentation of postmortem changes in salivary gland architecture and staining characteristics

CONTEXT: Estimation of time passed since death continues to be a major problem for the forensic pathologist and its determination plays an important and vital role in medico-legal cases. The histological studies on various tissues after death have been mostly confined to single organ or tissue by individual workers at different atmospheric conditions. AIMS: The aim of this study is to determine the best rehydrating solution for dehydrated tissues in postmortem examination. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This study was specific to salivary gland tissues and certain pattern of changes were determined during postmortem time intervals using hematoxylin and eosin stain and special stains like mucicarmine and alcian blue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was divided into two groups. (1) Group A: Normal tissue samples (twenty normal salivary gland tissue samples left without fixation for varying periods of time). (2) Group B: Control group (twenty normal salivary gland tissue samples immediately fixed in formalin). The three different rehydrating agents used in this study were glycerol, normal saline and modified Ruffer solution. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Not required. RESULTS: Modified Ruffer solution is the best when compared to glycerol and normal saline for rehydration of dehydrated tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Thus in our study we conclude that the tissue which had been dehydrated at the crime scene for a fairly long period showed better rehydration with modified Ruffer solution and yield good cellular and nuclear details.