Journal of Forensic Biomechanics

Forensic Histological Changes in Human Skin

Stefan Rob^* Department of Forensic Medicine Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
^*Correspondence: Stefan Rob, Department of Forensic Medicine Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, Email:

Received: 03-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. JFB-22-19391 ; Editor assigned: 05-Jan-2023, Pre QC No. JFB-22-19391 (PQ); Reviewed: 19-Jan-2023, QC No. JFB-22-19391 ; Revised: 27-Jan-2023, Manuscript No. JFB-22-19391 (R); Published: 03-Feb-2023, DOI: 10.35248/2090-2697.23.14.416

Description

The largest organ in the human body is skin and its examination is a critical part in forensic investigation. The skin may reveal information about an individual's identity, as well as the time and manner of death or injury. Normal post-mortem changes in the skin are described along with pseudopathology and damage from post-mortem animal activity. The forensic classification of types of injuries can be further discussed under forensics in dermatology. Histological changes in human skin within 32 days after the death have been observed to explore its potential significance in forensic science. Eight corpses' intact full-thickness skin and subcutaneous tissue were placed in a 4-6°C environment for 4 h, 6 h, 12 h, 18 h, 24 h, 36 h, 48 h, 60 h, 72 h, 84 h, 96 h, 6 d, 8 d, 10 d, 12 d, 16 d, 20 d, 24 d, 28 d, and 32 d. The entire layer of skin was then stained with hemotoxylin and eosin. A light microscope was used to examine the histological morphology of the epidermis, dermis, and appendages. After 24 hours, the epithelial nucleus condensed, and cell lysis was exhausted after 20 days. Post-mortem changes in the dermis occurred later than in the epidermis, but once epidermal changes began, the change was faster. The layers had become homogenized after 16 days. After 24 days, the epidermis and dermis were completely separated. Sweat gland changes appeared first and then disappeared; sebaceous glands and hair follicles began to degenerate at 96 h after death, and only their contour remained at approximately 20 d. The post-mortem histological changes in the skin showed individual and structural differences.

Some structures of the human skin survive for a long time after death at 4-6°C ambient temperature, and these structures can be used to identify the source of the tissue; post-mortem histological changes in the skin occur at specific times, which can be used to help infer the time of death. A comprehensive observation of changes in the skin's composition and structure is required to comprehensively analyses possible death times. The focus and primary difficulty of forensic pathology have always been an accurate estimation of the time of death or post-mortem interval. Many methods have been proposed to determine the time of death. The following is a list of the names of the people who have died in the last year. The general morphology of the skin after death, as well as changes in histology, biomechanics, temperature, spectral characteristics, microbes, skin resistivity, and other factors, have been studied, and some progress has been made, but not enough to be applied to real-world situations and used to accurately infer the time of death. After death, the skin is a relatively long-lived body tissue. Previous research has shown that after-death morphological changes in experimental animals and human skin correlate with time. However, until now, there have been few studies on histological changes in human skin after death, and most prior studies have been relatively short in duration. This study investigated the histological changes in isolated human skin after death for a longer period of time to investigate their potential significance in forensic practice, such as time of death inference. In this study, eight cadavers were randomly obtained, aged between 22 and 33 years old, including two women and six men (BMI 21.2-23.3). One donor died from mechanical asphyxia, and the other seven died from a mechanical injury. Before their deaths, the eight donors were in good health, with no skin diseases, skin damage, or scars. Bouin's solution, ethanol, xylene, paraffin, haematoxylin, and eosin were obtained. The slices were examined under an Olympus BX-43 microscope. We collected the images using Adobe Standard software. Hematoxylin and eosin staining all cadavers were dissected within four hours of death.

Conclusion

The skin in the chest area of the human body was selected in the study as it is a non-articular surface, and the subcutaneous tissue is thinner and less affected by obesity, sun exposure, friction, and damage. A surgical blade removed the entire layer of skin and subcutaneous tissue from the sternum angle to the xiphoid process. The sample was trimmed to 10 cm by 2 cm and then placed flat in a refrigerator at 4-6°C. A piece measuring 0.3 cm by 1.0 cm was extracted from each sample at different PMIs. After four days in Bouin's solution, the samples were transferred to 70% ethanol, dehydrated using a serial alcohol gradient, and embedded in paraffin wax blocks. The sample sections were dew axed in xylene and rehydrated with ethanol in decreasing concentrations. After that, they were stained with H&E. We observed the slices and recorded the results. The epidermis, dermis, sweat glands, hair follicles, and sebaceous glands were all altered.