title: Titanium pigment in tissues of drug addicts: report of 5 necropsied cases.
abstract: The aim of this report is to describe the anatomic-pathologic findings from necropsies of 5 drug addicts with titanium pigment in several organs after chronic intravenous injection of crushed propoxyphene hydrochloride tablets. Samples from liver, spleen, lungs, lymph nodes, and bone marrow were obtained, and after being grossly studied, they were submitted to evaluation using common light and polarized microscopy. In all 5 cases, a pigment with characteristics of titanium dioxide was found within tissue samples of the organs studied. Our findings suggest that research concerning titanium pigment within body tissues should be enhanced, considering the potential contribution of this morphologic data to forensic pathology.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine and Discipline of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine of the Triângulo Mineiro--Uberaba/MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcus Aurelho
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.forename: Vitorino Modesto
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Samia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Demachki
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lazo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000737:chemistry; D011431:Dextropropoxyphene / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D013154:Spleen / Q000737:chemistry; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000473:pathology*; D014025:Titanium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014025:Titanium; D011431:Dextropropoxyphene