Early acute fatal carbon monoxide poisoning--assessment of the survival period.

While the postmortem appearances and laboratory diagnosis of carbon monoxide poisoning are well recognized, the problem of determining the length of survival and hence the possible time of death still exists. The haematoxylin-basic fuchsin-picric acid stain for the detection of early myocardial ischaemia was applied in an attempt to assess the length of survival in early acute fatal carbon monoxide poisoning. Although the value of this stain in elucidating early ischaemia was confirmed, its application to this specific problem in forensic medicine appears limited.