title: Histological and enzyme histochemical parameters for the age estimation of human skin wounds.
abstract: Routine histological staining techniques form the basis of a forensic age estimation of human skin wounds and the determination of vitality is aided by the detection of neutrophilic granulocytes which appear earliest about 20-30 min after wounding. A clear granulocyte infiltration and a significant increase in the number of macrophages indicates a post infliction interval of at least several hours. Macrophages containing incorporated particles such as lipophages, erythrophages or siderophages appear earliest at a wound age of 2-3 days similarly to extracellular deposits of hemosiderin, whereas the rarely detectable iron-free pigment hematoidin and spot-like lymphocytic infiltrates in the granulation tissue appear approximately one week or more after wounding. A complete reepithelialization of surgically treated and primarily healing human skin lesions can be expected earliest 5 days after wound infliction and the absence of a complete new epidermal layer indicates a survival time of less than 21 days. Enzyme histochemical methods allow a wound age differentiation especially in the range of a few hours. An increase in nonspecific esterases can be observed earliest approximately 1 hour after wounding followed by other enzymes such as acid phosphatase (approximately 2 h), ATPase (approximately 4 h), aminopeptidase (approximately 4 h) or alkaline phosphatase (approximately 4 h). Positive results, however, cannot be regularly found. Therefore, the detection of reactive changes is useful for a wound age estimation whereas negative findings, which in general must be interpreted with caution, can provide information only in a limited number of histological parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Betz
mesh_terms: D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000032:analysis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000032:analysis; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000032:analysis; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D004950:Esterases / Q000032:analysis; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000473:pathology; D006485:Hemosiderin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010587:Phagocytosis; D012867:Skin / Q000201:enzymology / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D013997:Time Factors; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D006485:Hemosiderin; D004950:Esterases; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D000626:Aminopeptidases; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; D001663:Bilirubin