Laboratorio di Istopatologia Forense e Microbiologia Medico Legale, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano Via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, 20133, Milan, Italy.
Università degli Studi di Camerino, Camerino, Italy.
Int J Legal Med. 2022 Jul;136(4):997-1007. doi: 10.1007/s00414-022-02833-x. Epub 2022 May 11.
Microscopic examination of mummified or corified skin may be of extreme importance for forensic purposes. However, standard histological samples in these cases are low-end, and preparation is burdened by several problems and so are diagnostic results: an improvement of these types of specimens is therefore advantageous. This study aims to identify the best performing rehydration solution among a fabric softener, a body lotion, and Sandison's rehydrating solution. Samples of skin undergoing mummification or corification were collected from 25 corpses and each sample was divided into 4 fragments: one of these fragments was directly fixated in 4% formalin, one was previously treated with a tissue softener, another one was previously treated with a body lotion, and the last one was treated with Sandison's solution. After 72 h, the pretreated samples were post-fixated in 4% formalin and then prepared for standard histological examination staining the histological slides with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome. At the microscopic examination, samples directly fixated in formalin were characterized by usual marked structural alterations and altered stainability, typical of such dry tissues. Vice versa, those previously treated appeared to be better-preserved even though with different improvement levels: body lotion made a medium-low-grade restoration of the tissues, and fabric softener a high-grade restoration, while Sandison's rehydrating solution produced an optimal grade restoration. Sandison's rehydrating solution was confirmed to be the best rehydrating substance for mummified and corified skin. Fabric softener could be, however, considered a valid substitute, being productive of high-grade microscopic yield.
对木乃伊化或角质化皮肤进行微观检查对于法医学目的可能至关重要。然而，在这些情况下，标准的组织学样本质量较低，而且准备工作存在多个问题，导致诊断结果也不理想：因此，改善这些类型的标本是有利的。本研究旨在确定织物柔软剂、身体乳液和桑迪森（Sandison）再水化溶液中哪种再水化溶液的效果最佳。从 25 具尸体中采集正在木乃伊化或角质化的皮肤样本，并将每个样本分为 4 个部分：其中一部分直接固定在 4%甲醛中，一部分用组织柔软剂处理，另一部分用身体乳液处理，最后一部分用桑迪森溶液处理。72 小时后，预处理样本用 4%甲醛后固定，然后准备进行标准组织学检查，用苏木精-伊红和马松三色染色法对组织切片进行染色。在显微镜检查下，直接固定在福尔马林中的样本表现出明显的结构改变和染色性改变，这是干燥组织的典型特征。相反，那些预先处理过的组织似乎保存得更好，尽管改善程度不同：身体乳液对组织的恢复程度为中低等，织物柔软剂为高等，而桑迪森的再水化溶液则产生了最佳的恢复效果。桑迪森的再水化溶液被证实是木乃伊化和角质化皮肤的最佳再水化物质。然而，织物柔软剂也可以被认为是一种有效的替代品，能够产生高质量的显微镜效果。
