title: A comparative study of the microbiological contamination of postmortem blood and vitreous humour samples taken for ethanol determination.
abstract: Postmortem blood and vitreous humour samples were taken from each of 51 subjects. None of the vitreous humour samples contained large numbers of bacteria or fungi, whereas many micro-organisms were detected in 32 of the blood samples. The results of the microbiological examinations provided useful information for the interpretation of some ethanol levels that might otherwise have been misleading.
authors.affiliation: Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory, London, U.K.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Harper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol