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Application of P/VB staining to identify antemortem injury in a decomposed cadaver

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Abstract

It is challenging in forensic pathology to determine whether an injury is formed antemortem or postmortem in putrefied tissues. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining fails to work in highly decomposed corpses. Ponceau/Victoria blue B (P/VB) staining is usually used to show collagen fibers and muscles. Here, we used P/VB to show antemortem laceration injury on the scalp in a severely decomposed cadaver 1.5 years after death. This method is a simple and alternative method for the diagnosis of antemortem injury.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, 430030, People’s Republic of China

    Tianying Sun, Meichen Pan, Weiwei Zhu, Huine Liu, Chenguang Yang & Hongmei Dong

Authors
  1. Tianying Sun
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  2. Meichen Pan
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  3. Weiwei Zhu
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  4. Huine Liu
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  5. Chenguang Yang
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  6. Hongmei Dong
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Contributions

Conceptualization, methodology, writing — original draft: Tianying Sun; investigation, methodology, writing — original draft: Meichen Pan; visualization, resources: Weiwei Zhu; formal analysis, resources: Huine Liu; resources, visualization: Chenguang Yang; conceptualization, supervision, writing — review and editing: Hongmei Dong.

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Correspondence to Hongmei Dong.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Sun, T., Pan, M., Zhu, W. et al. Application of P/VB staining to identify antemortem injury in a decomposed cadaver. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 19, 464–467 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00533-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00533-x

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