Cetin Selcuk, Ataseven Tugba, Kalkanli Ilkay, Eren Bulent
Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, 60100 Tokat, Türkiye.
Department of Forensic Medicine, Tokat City Hospital, 60100 Tokat, Türkiye.
Diagnostics (Basel). 2025 Mar 2;15(5):605. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics15050605.
: Determination of the postmortem interval (PMI) remains a critical challenge in forensic science. Intervertebral discs, due to their structural resilience, hold promise as a reliable tissue for PMI estimation; however, studies focusing on their forensic applicability remain limited. This study aimed to evaluate progressive histopathological changes in intervertebral discs at specific postmortem intervals and assess their forensic applicability. : A total of 48 rats were divided into six groups: control (0 h), 7-day, 15-day, 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day postmortem intervals. Intervertebral disc samples were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and trichrome, and histopathological parameters such as homogenization, eosinophilia, dissociation, nuclear alterations (pyknosis and karyolysis), and collagen fragmentation were analyzed. : Statistically significant changes were observed across postmortem intervals ( < 0.001). Homogenization progressed from mild changes at 7 days to prominent levels by 90 days. Eosinophilia and dissociation between the epithelium and connective tissue also increased significantly over time ( < 0.001). Collagen fragmentation, initially minimal, became severe at the 90-day interval. The observed changes demonstrated a clear, time-dependent progression strongly correlating with the PMI. : Our findings suggest that histopathological changes in intervertebral discs follow a consistent and time-dependent pattern, making them a potential forensic marker for PMI estimation. This has important implications for forensic science, as it offers an alternative tissue type that is less susceptible to early decomposition compared to soft tissues. These results suggest that the intervertebral disc is a promising tissue for PMI estimation, offering a complementary approach to existing forensic methods.
确定死后间隔时间（PMI）仍然是法医学中的一项关键挑战。椎间盘由于其结构弹性，有望成为用于估计PMI的可靠组织；然而，专注于其法医学适用性的研究仍然有限。本研究旨在评估特定死后间隔时间椎间盘的渐进性组织病理学变化，并评估其法医学适用性。
总共48只大鼠被分为六组：对照组（死后0小时）、死后7天、15天、30天、60天和90天组。椎间盘样本用苏木精-伊红和三色染色法染色，并分析诸如均质化、嗜酸性粒细胞增多、解离、核改变（核固缩和核溶解）以及胶原纤维断裂等组织病理学参数。
在不同死后间隔时间观察到了具有统计学意义的变化（<0.001）。均质化从7天时的轻度变化发展到90天时的显著水平。嗜酸性粒细胞增多以及上皮与结缔组织之间的解离也随时间显著增加（<0.001）。胶原纤维断裂最初很轻微，但在90天间隔时变得严重。观察到的变化呈现出明显的、随时间变化的进展，与PMI密切相关。
我们的研究结果表明，椎间盘的组织病理学变化遵循一致且随时间变化的模式，使其成为估计PMI的潜在法医学标志物。这对法医学具有重要意义，因为它提供了一种与软组织相比不易早期分解的替代组织类型。这些结果表明，椎间盘是用于估计PMI的有前景的组织，为现有的法医学方法提供了一种补充方法。
