ABSTRACT

This study was aimed to compare the organ weights in experimentally drowned and post-mortem immersed rats. The experimentations were conducted on 50 rats divided into 5 groups including 10 rats with the consent of Faculty Ethical Committee.

The autopsies were done in a total of 50 Wistar Albino adult rats that sacrificed by an anesthetics overdose and subsequently dissected (Group 1: control group), experimental drowned (Group 2), anesthetized and sacrificed with ante-mortem open wounds, immersed for 24 hours (Group 3), sacrificed with an overdose of anesthetics and then immersed for 24 hours (Group 4) and 72 hours (Group 5). The weights of organs obtained during the autopsies were compared among experimentation groups. Whereas lung, liver, brain and right kidney weights decreased in the 72 hours post-mortem immersion group compared to the 24 hours post-mortem immersion group, the mean organ weights for the lung, liver, brain and right kidney increased (with mean increases of 55.1%, 24.3 %, 14.9 % and 10.5 % respectively) in the experimental drowning group compared to 24 hours post-mortem immersion group. Only the mean heart weight was not statistically different among the groups. The amount of fluid influx into the alveoli due to hydrostatic pressure is not as much as exogenous water inhaled into the lungs during experimental drowning. The decrease of lung, liver, brain and kidney weights in the 72 hours immersion group might be associated with the effects of putrefaction compared to the 24 hours post-mortem immersion group.

Keywords: Drowning, post-mortem changes, organ weight