Forensic Medicine · Vitreous and Postmortem Biochemistry for Time Since Death

Which vitreous analyte is MOST valuable for documenting ante-mortem renal function in a body recovered several days after death?

  • A Sodium
  • B Chloride
  • C Glucose
  • D Creatinine and urea
Correct answer: D. Creatinine and urea

Explanation

Vitreous urea and creatinine remain remarkably stable after death and are unaffected by the postmortem interval, so their levels faithfully mirror ante-mortem values. This makes them ideal for diagnosing ante-mortem uraemia in decomposed bodies where blood is unusable. Sodium and chloride fall progressively after death, and glucose is consumed by glycolysis, so all three change with time and cannot document ante-mortem state reliably.

Reference: Parikh's Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 7th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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