Histopathological Assessment of Autopsied Salivary Gland Tissue to Estimate the Post-Mortem Interval: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Care Centre
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51168/2f0v8615Keywords:
Post-mortem interval, salivary gland, autopsy, histopathology, autolysis, forensic medicine, time since deathAbstract
Background:
Estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI), or time since death, remains one of the most challenging components of forensic investigation. Conventional methods based on algor mortis, rigor mortis, livor mortis, and decomposition are influenced by environmental and biological factors. Histopathological examination provides an inexpensive and potentially useful adjunct by documenting sequential autolytic changes in tissues.
Aim:
To assess histopathological changes in autopsied salivary gland tissue and evaluate their association with the post-mortem interval.
Methods:
This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine and the associated Histopathology Department of a tertiary care centre from May 2025 to August 2026. We included 100 medico-legal autopsy cases. We collected representative submandibular salivary gland tissue during routine autopsy, fixed it in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed it routinely, and stained it with haematoxylin and eosin. Histological parameters including cellular integrity, nuclear changes, cytoplasmic eosinophilia, acinar degeneration, ductal changes, vacuolization, stromal alteration, and autolysis were graded and correlated with the known/estimated PMI. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26.0.
Results:
The majority of cases were males (72%), and the most frequent PMI category was 13–24 hours (32%). Progressive loss of cellular and nuclear detail, cytoplasmic eosinophilia, acinar degeneration, and ductal epithelial changes increased significantly with increasing PMI. Mild/absent autolysis predominated in cases with PMI ≤12 hours, whereas moderate-to-severe autolysis was predominant after 24 hours (p<0.001). A strong positive association was observed between the composite histopathological degeneration score and PMI category (Spearman's ρ=0.86, p<0.001).
Conclusion:
Histopathological examination of salivary gland tissue demonstrates progressive and statistically significant post-mortem changes and may serve as a useful adjunct for PMI estimation. It should, however, be interpreted alongside conventional forensic findings and environmental and circumstantial factors rather than being used as an independent determinant of time since death.
References
1. Ruiz López JL, Partido Navadijo M. Estimation of the post-mortem interval: a review. Forensic Sci Int. 2025;369:112412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112412
2. Singh J, Kumar A, Trivedi S, Pandey SK. Advancements in estimating post-mortem interval in medico-legal practice: a comprehensive review. Leg Med (Tokyo). 2025;75:102627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2025.102627
3. Sessa F, et al. Current understanding and future research direction for estimating the postmortem interval: a systematic review. Diagnostics (Basel). 2025;15(15):1954. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15151954
4. Cardinale AN, et al. Thanatochemistry and the role of hypoxanthine in the post-mortem interval estimation: a systematic literature review. Int J Legal Med. 2025;139(4):1743-1780. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-024-03378-x
5. Cianci V, et al. Forensic applications of postmortem protein analysis in estimating the time since death: a systematic review. Int J Legal Med. 2026;140(3):1665-1688. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-026-03730-3
6. Gupta T, Devi V, Rao A, Bharti R, Singh H, Kumar M, et al. Molecular forensics: RNA degradation as a marker for postmortem interval determination. Int J Legal Med. 2026;140(3):1735-1747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03702-z
7. Ireland J, et al. Peptide ratios for post-mortem interval estimation using targeted liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Int J Legal Med. 2026;140(3):1707-1716. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03693-x
8. Kavin G, Chaudhari VA, Patra AP, Adole PS, Prasad JB, Mathew D. Correlation of vitreous and serum biochemical markers with postmortem interval and cold storage duration: a prospective observational study. J Forensic Leg Med. 2025;114:102932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2025.102932
9. Fujihara J. The mechanism of serum cell-free DNA release in postmortem subjects and novel markers to estimate the postmortem intervals. J Forensic Leg Med. 2025;110:102814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2025.102814
10. Guerrero-Urbina C, Fors M, Vásquez B, Fonseca G, Rodríguez-Guerrero M. Histological changes in lingual striated muscle tissue of human cadavers to estimate the postmortem interval. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2023;19(1):16-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00495-0
11. Rajkumari S, Mensudar R, Naveen N, Thayumanavan B. Histopathological assessment of autopsied salivary gland tissue to estimate the post-mortem interval: a cross-sectional observational study. Indian J Forensic Med Toxicol. 2021;15(1):309-313. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v15i1.13424
12. Suhadi Pasaribu R, Auerkari EI, Suhartono AW. Histological changes in oral mucosa (gingiva) as a method for estimating post-mortem interval: a literature review. Saudi Dent J. 2024;36:980-983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sdentj.2024.05.002
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Chandan Samantaray, Dr. Dilip Kumar Mallick, Dr. Ashis Kumar Sukla
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
