title: Detection of toluene in an adipoceratous body.
abstract: A 24-year-old male was found dead in a car left in a river for about 3 months. The cadaver was almost adipoceratous and autopsy findings revealed that there were neither remarkable injuries nor lethal diseases. Toluene, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, isovaleraldehyde and n-butyl n-butyrate were detected in the specimens collected at the autopsy by head space gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The toluene concentrations (micrograms/g) were 31.0 in brain, 10.6 in liver, 5.4 in kidney, 15.0 in skeletal muscle and 187.1 in adipose tissue. The presence of diatom in lung, liver and kidney suggested that death was caused by drowning. So far as we know, this is the first report of detection of toluene in an adipoceratous body.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Nagoya City University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iwasa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeno
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matoba
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry; D000328:Adult; D000438:Alcohols / Q000032:analysis; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D004332:Drowning; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012997:Solvents / Q000032:analysis*; D014050:Toluene / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D012997:Solvents; D014050:Toluene