An Evaluation Of Time Since Death From Potassium Level Of Vitreous Humour In The Eyes Of Deceased Brought For Autopsy At Department Of Forensic Medicine Toxicology In A Government Medical College Of Garhwal Region Uttarakhand

Abstract

Background: The Post-mortem interval is the time between death and the examination of a corpse. It is important to know when the crime was committed. It helps the police to start their investigations with the information available and to process cases more efficiently. Materials and Methods: The sample of vitreous homour was collected from the posterior chamber of both eyes by aspirating gradually and slowly through a puncture 5-6 mm away from the limbus using a sterile 20 gauge needle taking care to avoid tearing of any loose tissue fragments surrounding the vitreous chamber. Results: In the present study there were 80 subjects, out of these subjects maximum subjects were from 26-35 years and minimum were from 66-75 years of age group. Conclusion: In our study, we found that an appreciable pattern of increased potassium concentration in vitreous humour was observed every 12 hours of post-mortem interval, with an approximate 2mmol/l increase.