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161]

Original Article

Estimation of Postmortem Interval Using the Radiological

Techniques, Computed Tomography: A Pilot Study
Jiulin Wang, Jilong Zheng, Jiaxin Zhang, Shoutao Ni, Biao Zhang
Department of Forensic Medicine, National Police University of China, Shenyang, China

Abstract
Estimation of postmortem interval(PMI) has been an important and difficult subject in the forensic study. It is a primary task of forensic work,
and it can help guide the work in field investigation. With the development of computed tomography(CT) technology, CT imaging techniques are
now being more frequently applied to the field of forensic medicine. This study used CT imaging techniques to observe area changes in different
tissues and organs of rabbits after death and the changing pattern of the average CT values in the organs. The study analyzed the relationship
between the CT values of different organs and PMI with the imaging software Max Viewer and obtained multiparameter nonlinear regression
equation of the different organs, and the study provided an objective and accurate method and reference information for the estimation of PMI
in the forensic medicine. In forensic science, PMI refers to the time interval between the discovery or inspection of corpse and the time of
death. CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and other imaging techniques have become important means of clinical examinations over the years.
Although some scholars in our country have used modern radiological techniques in various fields of forensic science, such as estimation of
injury time, personal identification of bodies, analysis of the cause of death, determination of the causes of injury, and identification of the
foreign substances of bodies, there are only a few studies on the estimation of time of death. We detected the process of subtle changes in
adult rabbits after death, the shape and size of tissues and organs, and the relationship between adjacent organs in threedimensional space
in an effort to develop new method for the estimation of PMI. The bodies of the dead rabbits were stored at 20C room temperature, sealed
condition, and prevented exposure to flesh flies. The dead rabbits were randomly divided into comparison group and experimental group. The
wholebody CT scans were performed on the experimental group of rabbits at different PMIs. NeuViz dualslice spiral CT scanner(made by
Neusoft Medical in China, 2mm10mm highspeed rare earth ceramic detector) is a 360 scan that could obtain two images, capable of
providing a wide range of highspeed continuous spiral scan. Max Viewer(Version: 1.0.0131, Neusoft, Shenyang, China) is a CT image viewing
software developed by Neusoft Medical. The software can be used to view and process images in various common methods and to measure a
number of parameters, such as length, area, angle, and CT values. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS1 Statistics 19.0(SPSS, Inc.,
Chicago, IL, USA). AP0.05 was considered statistically significant. We obtained the binomial regression equation of the CT values and
the related coefficient(R2). In the future, we suggests that comprehensive analyses of various indicators of different organs could establish a
diversified pattern to remedy the deficiencies and make the study of PMI estimation more scientific and enhance the operability.

Keywords: Area ratio, organ average computed tomography value, overall average computed tomography value, postmortem interval

Introduction and environmental factors. No matter which of the above

In forensic science, postmortem interval(PMI) refers to the
time interval between the discovery or inspection of corpse
and the time of death. Forensic workers usually determine PMI
mainly based on postmortem changes, such as livor mortis,
body temperature, rigor mortis, vitreous humor changes in
conjunction with autopsy findings, such as volume of urine
in bladder and degree of digestion of stomach contents, and
personal experience in forensic medicine. However, many
factors could affect determination of PMI, including individual
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methods are adopted, the determination of PMI shall be subject
to certain limitations.
Autopsy is an important process to determine the cause
of death, but the traditional autopsy methods destroy the
Address for correspondence: Prof. Jilong Zheng,
No.83, Tawan Street, Huanggu, 110036, Shenyang, China.
Email:lxts412@163.com
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak,
and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new
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DOI: How to cite this article: Wang J, Zheng J, Zhang J, Ni S, Zhang B.

10.4103/jfsm.jfsm_4_17 Estimation of postmortem interval using the radiological techniques,
computed tomography: A pilot study. J Forensic Sci Med 2017;3:1-8.

2017 Journal of Forensic Science and Medicine|Published by Wolters KluwerMedknow 1

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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography
body, and the folk customs and other factors related to the
integrity of the body lead to very low autopsy rate in our
country. Computed tomography(CT), magnetic resonance
imaging(MRI), and other imaging techniques have become
important means of clinical examinations over the years.[1] In
addition, CT and MRI are also successfully applied to invivo
damage inspection, especially for some invisible damages.
However, it was not until the year of 2000 that the research
team led by Professor Dirnhofer used imaging techniques
in autopsy for the first time. As the autopsy using imaging
techniques differs from the conventional autopsy, some
foreign scholars referred to it as virtopsy(virtual autopsy)[2]
or noninvasive anatomy for its characteristics, such as
noninvasiveness, rapidness, objectivity, and convenience of
preserving data. Furthermore, Jackowski et al. Discovered
after performing MRI scans on the corpses in eighty cases
of myocardial infarction, all the MRI images of acute, sub-
acute, Signal on T1- or T2-weighted imaging can not be
detected except the ultra-acute myocardial infarction.[3] They
considered that radiological techniques can be used for insitu
forensic identification of myocardial infarction according to
the changes in signal. The experiment results showed that
the noninvasive diagnostic modern imaging techniques have
great potential for the development of forensic application.[4]
Although some scholars in our country have used modern
radiological techniques in various fields of forensic science,
such as estimation of injury time, personal identification of
bodies, analysis of the cause of death, determination of the
causes of injury, and identification of the foreign substances of
bodies, there are only few studies on the estimation of time of
death.[5] Chinese scholars, Xiao Jian etal.published their study
on the spiral CT scan of rabbit model of air embolism death for
the first time in 2006.[6] The scan showed that the changes in
CT values and the morphological changes in some organs are
associated with the estimation of PMI. This study used modern
imaging techniques(spiral CT) for dynamic observation of
CT imaging changes in an adult rabbit model after death by
hanging at different PMIs, and observed structures of the body,
organs, and tissues and their internal changes, and finally
performed traditional anatomy for macroscopic comparison
of the two methods. Meanwhile, with the help of visualization
technology, we detected the process of subtle changes in adult
rabbits after death, the shape and size of tissues and organs, and
the relationship between adjacent organs in threedimensional
space in an effort to develop a new method for the estimation
of PMI.
Subjects and Methods
Laboratory animal grouping and method of killing
The rabbits (44 adult rabbits, weighing 2.02.5 kg,
22males and 22females; all the laboratory animals were
provided by the Laboratory Animal Center of Shenyang
Medical College) had been stored for 3days at 25C27C
temperature conditions, and then they were hanged to
death(A slip knot was fastened on the lower end of a
2 Journal of Forensic Science and Medicine Volume 3 Issue 1 JanuaryMarch 2017
nylon rope to make a slip loop,[7] and the upper end of
the rope was hanging on a vertical bar. The slip loop was
placed around a rabbits neck. The rabbit died of asphyxia
due to neck compression using its own weight to tighten
the loop). The bodies of the dead rabbits were stored at
20C room temperature, sealed condition, and prevented
from exposure to flesh flies. The dead rabbits were
randomly divided into comparison group and experimental
group. The wholebody CT scans were performed on the
experimental group of rabbits at different PMIs(time
range, 0129h[mean 6 h]). The traditional anatomy was
performed on a rabbit randomly selected from comparison
group at each PMI. All experimental procedures were
performed in accordance with the National Institutes of
Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
The main instruments
NeuViz dualslice spiral CT scanner(made by Neusoft Medical
in China, 2mm10mm highspeed rare earth ceramic
detector) is a 360 scan that could obtain two images, capable
of providing a wide range of highspeed continuous spiral
scan. Max Viewer(Version: 1.0.0131) is a CT image viewing
software developed by Neusoft Medical. The software can be
used to view and process images in various common methods
and to measure a number of parameters, such as length, area,
angle, and CT values.
Selection of image slices and parameter values
A continuous, thinslice wholebody scan (0.75 mm slice
thickness, 2mm slice distance, tube voltage 120kV, current
250 mA, time 1.0 s)[8,9] was performed on experimental
animals in a prone position with a spiral CT scanner at
different time points before and after their death. The
scanned CT image copies were observed and measured with
Neusofts CT image analysis software Max Viewer on a
personal computer(operating system Microsoft Windows XP
Professional, a desktop resolution of 1024768).
Taking the selection of brain tissue CT images as an example:
We chose three successive crosssection layers of the brain with
largest cranial cavity areas, namely, 20mm above the baseline
level(the level of the lower portion of the third ventricle) for
the study.[8,10] We took a crosssectional CT images, divided the
image into four equal parts with two mutually perpendicular
straight lines, and selected a certain area(5 mm2) of the average
CT values of the brain in each part. We took four average CT
values of each crosssectional CT images of the brain tissues,
selected three crosssections in total, a total of 12 average CT
values, and took the average of them as the average CT value
of brain tissues at a specific time point after death. The cranial
cavity overall averages, brain tissue averages, and area ratio
of brain tissues/whole cranial cavity were measured. We took
CT values>0.0 HU when measuring the area of brain tissues
and cranial cavity. Lung, heart, liver CT image selection and
parameter value selection methods were the same as the brain
tissue selection, and we measured average CT values of the
heart, area ratio of heart/thoracic vertebrae;[11] average of
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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography
lung tissues, area ratio of lung tissues/thoracic vertebrae;[12]
and average of liver tissues, area ratio of liver tissues/lumbar
vertebrae. The selection of the images of the abdominal
organs should avoid interference with the ribs and the organs
structure.[13]
Traditional autopsy
After spiral CT scans at different PMIs, an animal was
randomly selected from the comparison group for autopsy.
The key observation of the autopsy included brain, lung,
heart, liver changes which would be compared with spiral
CT scan virtual autopsy. Traditional autopsy method was
performed with reference to the relevant literature. The
experimental procedure was photographed for future
reference.
Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS1 Statistics 19.0
(SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). AP0.05 was considered
statistically significant.
Results
The computed tomography scan images of wholebody
organs of rabbits within 129h postmortem
Brain
Putrefaction area on CT images showed a low density
(CT<0.0 HU), and it was a mixing area of brain tissues
and putrefaction gases. The area of the brain tissues of the
rabbits was basically unchanged within 027h after death.
The putrefaction area first appeared in the base and central
regions of the skull 27h after death. With the development of
putrefaction, the contents of the putrefaction gases increased,
and the CT values of these areas continued to decrease and
gradually approached the CT values of gas. The gas area
appeared in the parietal region of the skull 45h after death,
and thereafter, the gas area was increasing continuously. The
CT scan images of the brain tissues of rabbit in 129h after
death are shown in Figure1.
Figure1: The brain computed tomography images within 129h of
postmortem interval
Journal of Forensic Science and Medicine Volume 3 Issue 1 JanuaryMarch 2017
Heart
The area of the heart was basically unchanged from 0 to 27h
after the death of rabbit; the lowdensity putrefaction area
appeared in the heart in succession 27h after death, the area of
the heart began to decrease; the lowdensity putrefaction, gas
area also appeared in the central region of the heart 51h after
death; the area of the heart decreased rapidly since 63h after
death; as the time went on, the lowdensity putrefaction area
continued to expand, and the CT images had gradually shown
the remaining part of the atrial and the ventricular wall; the CT
images had shown only a portion of remaining heart tissues
in the 129h after death. The CT scan images of the heart in
the 129h after the death of the rabbit are shown in Figure2.
Lung
Unlike other organs, the area of the lung exhibits characteristic
changes of the pulmonary window in different stages after the
death of the rabbit.[9] Based on the characteristics of lung CT
imaging, it can be divided into three stages:(1) during 033h
after death, the area of the lung was relatively unchanged;
(2) during 3387h after death, the area of the lung decreased
quickly, with the extension of PMI; at 45h after death, the lung
separated from the thorax and abdomen and was filled with
gases around;(3) during 87129h after death, the decrease
in the area of the lung was relatively stable; in this stage, the
lobes and segments of the lung became blurred, the density of
the pulmonary parenchyma increased was nonuniform, and the
changes in the pulmonary parenchyma scattered in spots and
sheets. The CT scan images of the lung 129h after the death
of the rabbit are shown in Figure3.
Liver
During 027h after death, the texture of each liver lobe
was uniform, there was no lowdensity area in the liver,
and there was no significant change in the area of the liver.
During 2769h after death, the area of the liver decreased
quickly, with the extension of PMI; at 33h after death, the
liver separated from the thorax and abdomen and was filled
with gases around; in this stage, the liver parenchyma area
Figure2: The heart computed tomography images within 129h of
postmortem interval
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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography
was shrinking continuously. During 69129h after death,
the decrease in the area of the liver was relatively stable, the
structure of each liver lobe became blurred, the density of the
liver parenchyma increased was nonuniform, and the liver
tissues scattered in spots and sheets; at 129h after death, the
CT images showed that the liver area was filled with gases,
and there were only a small amount of connective tissues. The
CT scan images of the liver in the 129h after the death of the
rabbit are shown in Figure4.
The computed tomography parameter values of wholebody
organs and the changing trends
The CT values of brain tissues of each rabbit at different
PMIs were obtained with image analysis software Max
Viewer[Figure 5], wherein the average CT values of the
brain tissues decreased generally, and the specific changing
trends were to increase first and decrease later, i.e.,the high
value reached 39.1 HU from the time of death to the 33h after
death, and then the average CT values decreased until 129h
after death when the average CT values of the brain tissues
could not be measured; with the extension of PMI, from
39h after death, the overall average CT values of the cranial
cavity decreased gradually and came close to the CT values of
gases; the area ratio of brain tissues/cranial cavity was almost
unchanged within 27h after death; from 27h after death, the
area ratio of brain tissues/cranial cavity decreased gradually
and came close to 0.
The CT parameter values of the heart are shown in Figure6. The
changing trends of average CT values of the heart tissues were
roughly the same as that of the brain tissues, i.e.,the average
CT values increased after death, and the high value reached
55.0 HU at 39h after death, and then the average CT values
decreased; the area ratio of heart/thoracic vertebrae was basically
unchanged within 27h after death, and the area ratio of heart/
thoracic vertebrae decreased gradually from the 27h after death.
The CT parameter values of the lung are shown in Figure7.
The average CT values increased continuously from the 0 to
Figure3: The lung computed tomography images within 129h of
postmortem interval
4 Journal of Forensic Science and Medicine Volume 3 Issue 1 JanuaryMarch 2017
87h after death and peaked with524.2 HU at 87h after death,
and then the average CT values decreased; the area ratio of
lung/thoracic vertebrae was basically unchanged within the
33h after death; during 3387h after death, the area ratio of
lung/thoracic vertebrae decreased rapidly and then slowed
down from 87h after death.
The CT parameter values of the liver are shown in Figure8.
The average CT values of the liver tissues gradually increased
after death and peaked with 58.4 HU at 33h after death and then
decreased gradually; the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae
was basically unchanged within 27h after death; during
2769h after death, the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae
gradually decreased, and the rate of decrease was relatively
faster; the rate of decrease in the area ratio of liver/lumbar
vertebrae slowed down after 69h after death.
Traditional autopsy
The traditional anatomy was performed on the brain, heart,
lung, liver of the rabbits, and the changes in the organs at
different intervals after death that could be seen with naked
eye were consistent with the CT imaging findings.
The regression analysis of multiple parameters and
postmortem interval
Using SPSS1 Statistics 19.0 for curve fitting of different
organs CT parameter values and different PMI time points,
we obtained the binomial regression equation of the CT values
and the related coefficient(R2)[Table1]. After ttest, the area
ratio of brain tissues/cranial cavity, area ratio of heart/thoracic
vertebrae, area ratio of lung/thoracic vertebrae, area ratio of
liver/lumbar vertebrae, and overall average CT values of the
cranial cavity showed close correlation with PMI(P<0.001);
the average CT values of the brain tissues, overall average CT
values of the cranial cavity, average CT values of the heart
tissues, and the average CT values of the liver tissues all
decreased with the extension of PMI, which showed strong
negative correlation with PMI; while the average CT values
Figure4: The liver computed tomography images within 129h of
postmortem interval
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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography

a b

c
Figure5: The trends of brain of computed tomography parameter value within 129h of postmortem interval(a: The average brain computed tomography
value, b: The overall average computed tomography value, c: Brain area/cranial cavity area)

a b
Figure6: The trends of heart of computed tomography parameter value within 129h of postmortem interval(a: The average heart computed tomography
value, b: Heart area/thoracic cavity area)

a b
Figure7: The trends of lung of computed tomography parameter value within 129h of postmortem interval(a: The average lung computed tomography
value, b: Lung area/thoracic cavity area)

of the lung tissues did not show any significant correlation
with PMI.
Discussion
Analysis of the parameter values of brain tissues
The average CT values of the brain tissues within 129h
after the death of rabbit showed some negative correlation
with PMI. The overall changing trend was decrease, and the
specific changes were to increase first and decrease later;
the high value reached 39.1 HU at 33h after death, and then
the average CT values decreased until the 129h after death
when the average CT values of the brain tissues could not
be measured. The analysis of the autopsy findings suggests
that reaching a high value at 27h after death was related to
the parenchymal changes of the brain tissues, which may be

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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography

a b
Figure8: The trends of liver of computed tomography parameter value within 129 h of postmortem interval (a: The average liver computed tomography
value b: Liver area/abdominal cavity area)

Table 1: The regression analysis of different organs of computed tomography parameter value within 129h PMI
Parameters Regression equation R2 R P
Brain area/cranial cavity area(%) y=91.947x 4.2813x+115.71
2
0.905 0.951 <0.001
Average brain CT value(HU) y=0.0701x25.9386x+162.77 0.617 0.786 <0.001
Overall average CT value(HU) y=0.0001x20.195x+39.065 0.853 0.924 <0.001
Heart area/thoracic cavity area(%) y=4.1415X243.368x+128.17 0.894 0.964 <0.001
Average heart CT value(HU) y=0.1157X210.238x+262.28 0.538 0.733 <0.001
Lung area/thoracic cavity area(%) y=0.3981x216.941x+193.5 0.843 0.918 <0.001
Average lung CT value(HU) y=0.0015x21.8147x466.61 0.064 0.252 >0.001
Liver area/abdominal cavity area(%) y=0.3481x214.606x+149.32 0.879 0.938 <0.001
Average liver CT value(HU) y=0.0034x22.0176x+144.83 0.779 0.883 <0.001
P0.05 was considered statistically significant. x: PMI(h), y: Parameter, CT: Computed tomography, PMI: Postmortem interval

postmortem brain tissue decay of the animal, namely, relation
with neurons and glial cells swelling, karyopyknosis, Nissl
degeneration, and loss of brain tissue water. Then, the decrease
in the CT values may be related to brain tissue softening
and liquefaction. With the progress of brain tissue softening
and liquefaction, rapid bacterial propagation, and decay and
degradation of brain tissues, brain cells continued to reduce,
decay area continued to expand, and the CT values decreased
gradually. The changing trends of overall average CT values of
the cranial cavity differed from the changing trends of average
CT values of the brain tissues, which is to increase first and
decrease later; the overall average CT values of the cranial
cavity showed no obvious changes within 57h after death.
The study suggests that the brain tissue decay, cell alteration,
and brain tissue softening and liquefaction were happening
at the same time and neutralized each other; the average CT
values of the whole cranial cavity were relatively constant.
After 57h after death, with propagation of large amounts of
putrefying bacteria, putrefaction area and putrefaction gases
appeared in large number in the cranial cavity, and the overall
average CT values of the cranial cavity rapidly decreased until
the values tended to approach the CT values of gas. The area
of brain tissues and the area ratio of brain tissues/cranial cavity
showed no significant change within 33h after death; during
the 3363h after death, CT images showed that lowdensity
putrefaction area and putrefaction gases started to appear
in the brain tissues in the base and the central region of the
skull, and the brain tissues became foaming organs in general.
After 69h postmortem, the brain tissue CT images showed
nonuniformity and multicenter changes. The area ratio of brain
tissues/cranial cavity decreased significantly. The analysis
suggests that on the one hand, despite the brain tissue hypoxia
caused by the interruption of oxygen transport in blood after
death of individual rabbit, brain cells and glial cell swelling,
karyopyknosis, dissolution, softening of brain tissues, however,
there were no putrefaction gases appeared in the early hours
after death, and the area of the brain tissues was not affected, so
within 33h postmortem, the area ratio of brain tissues/cranial
cavity did not change significantly. After 69h postmortem, the
putrefying bacteria in the brain tissues increased significantly.
The brain tissues were gradually decomposed by putrefying
bacteria and started to disappear. It produced large amounts
of putrefaction gases, and the putrefaction gases constantly
replaced the brain tissues. The brain tissue CT values changed
significantly shortly after the death of the rabbit and can
be effectively used for earlystage PMI estimation, and the
regression equation of the overall average CT values of the
cranial cavity can be effectively used for advanced stage
PMI estimation, and they can be used in conjunction with
the parameter changes in the average CT values of the brain
tissues and the overall average CT values of the cranial cavity
for PMI estimation.
Analysis of the parameter values of heart
During 27h after death, the average CT values of the heart
tissues increased in the beginning. This may be caused by
protein denaturation and water loss in the heart. During
the subsequent putrefaction stages, the average CT values

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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography
of the heart tissues decreased constantly. With reference
to the traditional autopsy results, this study suggests that
this is caused by the autolysis and liquefaction of the heart
and the propagation of putrefying bacteria in the heart. The
CT images showed lowdensity area in the organ; with the
emergence of putrefaction gases in the organ, the density of
the organ decreased rapidly and gradually approaching the
CT values of gas. The area ratio of heart/thoracic vertebrae
gradually decreased with the extension of PMI, and the area of
heart and the area ratio of heart/thoracic vertebrae showed no
significant change during 027h after death; the lowdensity
putrefaction area appeared in the central region of the heart
in succession in the 2745h after death, and the area ratio
of heart/thoracic vertebrae began to decrease gradually;
after the 45 h postmortem, the area of the lowdensity
putrefaction gas area in the central region of the heart kept
increasing, and the CT images gradually showed only the
remaining portion of the atria and ventricular wall, and the
area ratio of heart/thoracic vertebrae decreased significantly.
The analysis suggests that the decay has just begun shortly
after the death of the individual, and did not produce a lot
of putrefaction gases. Within 27h after death, the area ratio
of heart/thoracic vertebrae did not change significantly, then
under the action of large amounts of putrefying bacteria in
the blood and the chest, the heart tissues were decomposed
by the putrefying bacteria and gradually disappeared. This
produced large amounts of putrefaction gases, and the area
of the heart decreased.
Analysis of the parameter values of lung
The statistical analysis result suggests that the correlation
coefficient between average CT values of lung tissues and PMI
was relatively low, the changing trends showed that the average
CT values of lung tissues kept increasing after death until
reaching the peak during 5081h postmortem, and then the
average CT values gradually decreased. The analysis suggests
that the increase in the average CT values of lung tissues may
be due to the protein denaturation and the loss of water in the
organ, coupled with the relatively abundant connective tissues
of the enveloping membranes and the vasculature in the lung,
and with the development of the putrefaction of the lung, the
average CT values of lung tissues tended to approach the
CT values of gas. In terms of the area ratio of lung/thoracic
vertebrae, within 33h after death, the texture of each lobe
and segment of the lung was uniform, normal lung markings
were clearly visible, the edges of the lung were close to chest
wall, there was no inflating trachea in the lung, and the area
ratio of lung/thoracic vertebrae did not change significantly.
During 3387h after death, the lung separated from thorax
and abdomen and was filled with gases around, the region of
pulmonary parenchyma kept shrinking, the area of the lung
reduced quickly, and the area ratio of lung/thoracic vertebrae
decreased significantly; during 87129h after death, the lobes
and segments of the lung were hardly distinguishable, the
density of pulmonary parenchyma increased nonuniformly,
there were scattered and patchy pulmonary consolidation, and
Journal of Forensic Science and Medicine Volume 3 Issue 1 JanuaryMarch 2017
the area ratio of lung/thoracic vertebrae decreased slowly. The
analysis suggests that within 33h after death, the epithelial
cells of individuals lung tissues and alveoli swelled and
degenerated, the CT images did not show any putrefaction gas
area, and the area of the lung did not change significantly. With
the extension of PMI, large amounts of putrefying bacteria
propagated, the putrefaction gases continued to increase in
the chest, the catabolism of lung tissues continued under the
action of putrefying cells, and the area ratio of lung/thoracic
vertebrae decreased rapidly after the 39h postmortem, and
after the 87h postmortem, the tracheas, blood vessels, and
residual connective tissues of the lung were difficult to be
broken down, so after the 87h postmortem, the decrease in
the area of the lung was relatively slower. The study showed
that the parameter changes in the average CT values of the
lung tissues cannot be used for PMI estimation.
Analysis of each parameter value changes in the liver
The average CT values of the liver tissues kept increasing after
death and reached the peak during 2739h postmortem, and
then the average CT values gradually decreased. The analysis
suggests that the CT values of the liver showed increasing
trend initially. This may be due to the protein denaturation
and the loss of water in the liver. The putrefaction area and
putrefaction gas area subsequently emerged in the liver
tissues, and the CT values of the liver showed decreasing
trend. With reference to the traditional autopsy results, this
was caused by the liver autolysis, liver liquefaction, and large
amounts of putrefying bacteria propagated in the intestines,
liver, and biliary system, and the liver tissues continued to
be destroyed by the putrefying bacteria, so the area of the
liver kept decreasing. The study used the CT values of the
liver to establish nonlinear regression equation, and this can
accurately reflect the estimation of PMI from the time of death
until the disappearance of the liver. Within 129h after death,
the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae gradually decreased
with the extension of PMI, and the statistical analysis showed
that there is some negative correlation between the two. This
indicates that the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae gradually
decreased after death and showed certain regularity. Within
27h after death, texture of each liver lobe was uniform, there
was no lowdensity area in the liver, the frontal edge of the
liver stayed close to the abdominal wall, there were a small
amount of gases between the rear edge of the liver and the rear
abdominal wall, there was no inflating bile duct in the liver, and
there was no significant change in the area ratio of liver/lumbar
vertebrae. During 2775h after death, the liver separated from
the thorax and abdomen and was filled with gases around, and
the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae significantly decreased.
During 75129 h after death, the liver lobes were hardly
distinguishable, there were scattered and patchy liver tissues,
and the decrease in the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae
was relatively slower. The analysis suggests that within 27h
after death, the liver cells were destroyed by the degeneration,
necrosis, and continuous autolysis, but it did not produce
large amounts of putrefaction gases, and there was not much
7
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Wang, etal.: Postmortem interval using the radiological techniques, computed tomography
change in the area of the liver. After the 27h postmortem,
large amounts of intestinal putrefying bacteria propagated,
the putrefaction gases kept increasing in the abdomen, the
catabolism of the liver continued under the influence of
putrefying cells, and the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae
decreased. The residual connective tissues of the liver were
difficult to be broken down, so after the 87 h postmortem,
the decrease in the area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae was
relatively slower.
Conclusions
There was a negative correlation between the CT values
of different tissues and organs and the PMI, but there were
some differences between various tissues and organs. The
analysis suggests that this was related to the characteristics of
various tissues and organs and the different types and contents
of the enzymes in the tissues and organs. The correlation
coefficients between area ratio of brain tissues/cranial cavity,
overall average CT values of the cranial cavity, area ratio of
heart/thoracic vertebrae, area ratio of lung/thoracic vertebrae,
and area ratio of liver/lumbar vertebrae were higher than the
correlation coefficients between average CT values of brain
tissues, average CT values of heart tissues, average CT values
of liver tissues, and average CT values of lung tissues, wherein
the correlation of the lung tissues was not significant and
cannot be used for PMI estimation. The study also found time
differences in the changes of different indicators. Some tissues
and organs(such as heart and liver) showed significant changes
in average CT values within 30h after death, but some other
organs did not show significant changes in the parameters of
the area ratio of organs and the overall average CT values of
the cranial cavity until the 27h after death. This shows that
there are certain deficiencies in using a single indicator for
PMI estimation. In the future, we suggests that comprehensive
analyses of various indicators of different organs could
establish a diversified pattern to remedy the deficiencies and
make the study of PMI estimation more scientific and enhance
the operability.
This study chose rabbit as experimental subjects not human
corpses, and the experimental study was carried out at fixed
temperature and humidity, which is the most important element
to affect postmortem changes, whereas the putrefaction of the
corpses could be affected by many factors in real cases; we can
add different environmental conditions in the next experiment
to expand the value of the study; the methods introduced in
this study are far from being used for corpses, because the CT
examinations is too expensive to be used for PMI estimation;
however, the experimental results are encouraging, and they
laid an applied foundation for the methods to readily gain
widespread recognition in forensic practice. The future study
may focus on taking full advantage of radiological techniques,
8 Journal of Forensic Science and Medicine Volume 3 Issue 1 JanuaryMarch 2017
and more efforts should be put into the study of PMI estimation
of corpses. Collecting more data and establishing a database
could facilitate radiological techniques to be used in forensic
pathology practice soon.
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank all staff, especially Professor Xiaodong
Zhang from the Laboratory of Forensic Pathology, School of
Forensic Medicine, China Criminal Police University, China.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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