VISCERA

PRESERVATION
{
 The viscera from the human body may be preserved for the
following purposes
 In Living:
 Poisoning:Stomach Wash,Blood,Urine,Faeces,Vomitus are sent for
chemical analysis
 In Dead Body:
 For chemical analysis
 In cases of drowning:for diatom examination
 Culture and sensitivity in case of suspected septicemia(specially
of spleen)
 For suspected virus-tissue preserved in 50% glycerine
 Viscera preserved in formalin,for histopath examination,in case of
doubtful cause of death.
 For enzyme studies-Tissue collected in flask containing liquid
nitrogen
 For DNA finger printing:Sample is frozen and sent
INDICATIONS
 When Investigating Officer requests.
 When Medical Officer during PM suspects poisoning
 When cause of death not established (to exclude poisoning)
 When cause of death is established but there is also suspicion of
poisoning
 In all decomposed bodies
 In cases of burns
 In asphyxial deaths-specially drowning
 In traffic accidents-when suspicion of alcohol consumption
ROUTINE VISCERA PRESERVED
 Stomach-whole of it
 Stomach contents:100-200 ml of it
 Small Intestine: about 1m
 Intestinal contents-about 100 ml
 Liver with gall bladder-about 1/3rd(500 gms) in adults and ½ in
children(majority of the drugs are detected in gall bladder)
 Spleen: half in adults and full in children
 Kidneys: half of each kidney in adults and both the kidneys in
children
 Blood: about 100 ml
 Urine: 100-200ml
 ADDITIONAL VISCERA
PRESERVED
 Injectable poison and in snake bite-Skin and muscles from
around the site of injection are preserved.Similar part from
opposite side is collected as control.
 In cases of criminal abortion-Uterus,cervix,bladder and rectum
are collected
 In alcohol poisoning:Blood,CSF,lungs and brain
 In gaseous poisons: lungs and brain
 In cerebral poisons: brain
 In strychnine poisoning: spinal cord and brain
 In cardiac poisons: heart
 In heavy metal poisoning: eg
arsenic,lead,copper,mercury,antimony-bones ,bone marrow,nails
and hair.
COLLECTION of the VISCERA
 BLOOD
-In cases of poisoning-blood from peripheral vein or heart or abdominal
cavity can be taken
-In cases of alcohol poisoning-blood should not be taken from thoracic or
abdominal cavities since due to seepage of alcohol from stomach ,the value
will be more
-For blood grouping-if no preservative is there, collect blood on filter paper
and dry it
 CSF;It is collected by Cisternal puncture or Aspiration by pipette from

base of brain
 Urine: preferably a catheter sample

 Bone: 200-300 gms,shaft of femur-10-15cm

 Bone marrow: from sternum or femur

 Hair-about 10gms plucked from head and pubic area(not cut)

 Nails-all 20 complete nails to be pulled out

 Skin and Muscle-about 1sq inch of skin and muscle upto 2 inch depth

ALL ADDITIONAL VISCERA ARE PRESERVED IN SATURATED SALT

SOLUTION IN SEPARATE BOTTLES
PACKAGING Of VISCERA

 Viscera is collected and packed in wide mouthed glass

bottles
 BOTTLE 1-Stomach,small intestine and their contents
 BOTTLE 2-Parts of liver,spleen and each kidney
 BOTTLE 3-Blood
 Additional viscera collected is put in separate bottles
 PRESERVATIVES USED
 VISCERA-
 In all cases except acid poisoning,including carbolic acid ,saturated salt
solution
 For cases of acid poisoning excluding carbolic acid,Rectified spirit
 Additional viscera preserved in saturated salt solution
 BLOOD
 For grouping(2-3ml) in 0.5% sodium citrate and 0.25%formalin
 In all cases of poisoning including alcohol,but excluding carbon
monoxide,fluoride and oxalic acid (10 ml)-30mg of potassium oxalate
(anticoagulant) and 10mg sodium fluoride (enzyme inhibitor)
 In CO poisoning –a layer of liquid paraffin
 In fluoride and oxalic acid poisoning-30mg sodium citrate or 3ml
heparin
 URINE
 100-200ml saturated salt solution or rectified spirit or sodium citrate or
sodium benzoate
 FORENSIC SCIENCE LAB
 A forensic science lab undertakes the examination of physical evidence
sent by MO or the ones recovered from the scene of crime,so as to link a
suspect to victim,to scene or to crime
 In our country some of these labs are under the control of Union
Government while others are under state government.
 Almost all states have a FSL.In Maharashtra ,there are FSLs at Mumbai,
Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Nashik
 An FSL should have the following sections
 Toxicology section
 Serology
 Biological
 Molecular biology
 Physical
 Ballistic
 Finger print section
 Polygraphy section
 Document analysis
 Photography section
 PHYSICAL EVIDENCE in FSL
 Physical evidence is useful as it helps us to decide whether a crime is
committed and it also helps us to decide as to who has committed the
crime
 Examples
 In cases of poisoning
 In assault and murder
 In burn deaths
 In firearm injuries
 In hanging/strangulation
 In drowning
 In sexual offenses
 In vehicular accidents
 Identification
 Disputed paternity
 Drug trafficking
 Burglary
 Forgery
 ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES in
FSL
 Chromatography-
 Thin layer chromatography
 Paper chromatography
 Column chromatography
 Gas chromatography
 Electrophoresis
 Spectroscopy
 Spectrophotometry-
 Colorimeter
 UV and IR spectrophotometry
 Mass spectrometry
 Emission spectrophotometry
 Atomic absorption spectrophotometry
 Neutron activation analysis
 Microscope-
 Comparison microscope
 Dark field microscope
 Electron microscope
 Fluorescence microscope
 Polarizing microscope
 X ray microscope
 Lie Detection-Polygraph
 Narcoanalysis –Truth serum drugs (scopolamine hydrobromide )
 INTERPRETATION of RESULT of
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
 If poison found in bottle 1 and absent in bottle 2:Poison not absorbed,
death is not due to poisning, poisoning be post mortem
 Poison found in bottle 2 and absent in1:Poison absorbed, if poison is
ingested it is more than 2-6 hrs before, may be poisoning by other
routes, if the level is as that of fatal poisoning-death is due to
poisoning
 Poison found in 1 and 2:poison partially absorbed
 Poison not found in 1 and 2: Poison not detected or it was not a case
of poisoning.
 FAILURE to DETECT POISON
 In some cases no trace of poison is found on analysis,although from
other circumstances it is quite clear and certain that poison was the
cause of death.The explanations of negative findings are
 Poison may have been eliminated by vomiting and diarrhoea eg-irritant
poisons
 The whole of poison has disappeared from the lungs by evaporation or
oxidation
 The poison after absorption may be detoxified,conjugated and
eliminated from the system
 Some vegetable alkaloid poisons cannot be definitely detected by
chemical methods
 Some drugs are rapidly metabolised,making extraction difficult
 Some organic poisons especially alkaloids and glucosides may by
oxidation during life,or due to faulty preservation ,or a long interval of
time or from decomposition in body,may deteriorate and cannot be
detected chemically
 Biological toxins and venoms which may be protein in nature cannot be
separated from body tissues.Immunoassay can detect these.
 If the poison acts slowly and death is delayed following
production of irreversible organic changes(eg cyanide or H2S),the
poison may be completely excreted
 Sometimes the decomposition products make the detection
difficult
 Treatment may alter the poisonous substance
 Many drugs may be present in very small amount and these may
require considerable amount of viscera for their identification
 The wrong or insufficient material may have been sent for
analysis