Estimation of early postmortem interval in dogs in Malaysia

Postmortem interval (PMI) is the period that elapsed from the moment of death until the time the body is discovered. Despite substantial documentation on PMI, most were those of the temperate regions. Carcass cooling rate, pathology and entomology were used in this study to estimate the PMI under tropical conditions. Postmortem changes were observed and recorded periodically while postmortem examination was done after 24 hours. The temperature of the brain, liver and rectum were measured every 60 seconds for 24 hours using thermo couple probes. Biopsies from the brain, liver, and epaxial muscle were collected at 0, 12, 18, and 24 hour PMI. The samples were then routinely processed for histology and viewed under light microscope. Life cycle stages of flies that surrounded the carcasses were collected, placed in 70% ethyl alcohol and identified. Rate of temperature drop from the three organs revealed an exponential curve with strong regression models which were later used to generate algebraic formulas to estimate the PMI. Likewise, these changes correlated well with normal postmortem changes occurring throughout that period. Fly species of the Muscadomestica, Chrysomamegacephala, and Megaseliascalaris were collected from the carcasses