Abstract
Objective: Diatom analysis is a valuable tool in forensic science and it is useful in diagnosis of drowning and determination of the drowning site. The basic principal of the “diatom test” in investigation of drowning is based on correlation between diatoms are present in the medium where the possible drowning took place and inhalation of water causes penetration of diatoms into the alveolar system and blood stream and consequently their deposition into brain, kidneys and other organs, like the bone marrow of large bones. There are various extraction methods that are used to isolate diatoms from water and tissues. Nitric acid digestion is a worlwide known method for the extraction of diatoms. In this study, instead of acid digestion method, colloidal silica gradient centrifuge method was used to extraction diatom and the advantages of this technique has been aimed to be discussed.
 Materials and Methods: Therefore, 30 visceral and body fluid samples that have been obtained from corpses which were removed from the water and brought to the Council of Forencic Medicine to perform autopsy, were examined and diatom were obtained from samples of 19 cases. Moreover, the diatoms that were obtained from the swab samples taken from the outer body surfaces and the diatoms obtained from the visceral organs were compared.
 Results: When the diatoms which were obtained from internal organs tissues and body fluids were evaluated numerically, it was seen that the diatoms that were obtained lungs were in high numbers and it was followed by pleural liquid...
Highlights
In the corpses pulled out of the water, as in all forensic cases, an autopsy must be performed in order to determine the cause of death
Materials and Methods: internal organ and body fluid samples that have been obtained from 30 corpses which were removed from the water and brought to the Council of Forensic Medicine to perform autopsy, were examined and diatom were obtained from samples of 19 cases
When the diatoms which were obtained from tissues from internal organs and body fluids were evaluated numerically, it was seen that the diatoms that were obtained lungs were in high numbers and it was followed by the pleural liquid, stomach content and pericardial fluid, respectively
Summary
In the corpses pulled out of the water, as in all forensic cases, an autopsy must be performed in order to determine the cause of death. Diatom analysis is a valuable tool in forensic science, and it is useful in the diagnosis of drowning and determination of the drowning site [2]. Many different methods are used for the extraction of diatoms from tissues, the most common method is homogenizing the tissues with acids. This method is inexpensive and easy to take it takes a long time, the acid to be a toxic substance, phytoplankton and zooplankton around the diatom can be damaged and causes to the prevention of detection are disadvantages of the method. The colloidal silica gradient centrifugation method used in this study is stated that more advantageous because the application time is short, and it does not harm the plankton with its toxic effect [5, 6, 7]
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