title: Experimental evaluation of freezing preparation for the macroscopic inspection in putrefied brain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the usefulness of freezing preparation for macroscopic investigation in advanced putrefied brain.
  
  
  METHODS
  After sealing in individual plastic bags, 10 pig heads were stored at 20°C for 5days allow postmortem change (putrefaction) to progress. After an observation period, they were divided into 2 groups to evaluate the usefulness of the freezing effect in macroscopic investigation. The process over the postmortem period and the freezing process were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At day-5, the presence of air density was detected between the inner surface of the cranium and the brain parenchyma. Intra-cranial air accumulation presented on CT in all heads. In the control group, the brain parenchyma leaked out from the hole in the meninges, and the gray-white matter difference was clear in 3/72 (4.2%), moderate in 7/72 (9.7%), ambiguous in 17/72 (23.6%), and poor in 45/72 (62.5%). In the freezing group, the brain parenchyma presented homogeneous low density after more than 14h freezing. On opening the cranium, the entire brains were frozen, and the gray-white matter difference was clear in 33/72 (46.0%), moderate in 17/72 (24.0%), ambiguous in 15/72 (21.0%), and poor in 7/72 (10.0%). The freezing group afforded greater clarity in the gray-white matter inspection (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Freezing preparation was useful for the macroscopic investigation of putrefied brain compared with the ordinary autopsy.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cause of Death Investigation, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hyodoh
authors.affiliation: Center for Cause of Death Investigation, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan; Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan. Electronic address: k-matoba@med.hokudai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matoba
authors.affiliation: International Relations Office, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matoba
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsuko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Science, Core Research Lab., Hokkaido University, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001344:Autopsy; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D005615:Freezing; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013552:Swine; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: Decomposition; Forensic pathology; Freeze; Postmortem CT; Putrefied brain