Can a Postmortem Skin Biopsy Predict Cause of Death?
A 28-year-old male, plumber by occupation, was brought dead to casualty by an attendant. He waslast seen alive working on a motor that pumps water out of a well. On postmortem cause of death could not be identified except an electric mark on palm. It was a circular raised pale lesion measuring 2 × 1cm on the left hand palmar aspect, firm in consistency without surroundinginflammation. Inquest also ruled out foul play. Viscera were sent for chemical analysis which ruled out poisoning and intoxication. The biopsy of the skin lesion was sent for histopathology to find out whether the death was due to electrocution. Formalin-fixed tissue comprising of skin and subcutaneous tissue measuring 2 × 1 × 1 cm was received and was processed entirely. Care was taken to avoid autolysis in microscopic sections and to include the epidermis in the sections. Routine hematoxylin and eosin stain and Von Gieson stain was done. On microscopy, intraepidermal separation and focal necrosis within epidermis was seen []. There were nuclear elongation, pyknosis, and palisading (spindle-shaped nuclei in the epidermis arranged parallel to each other) seen in the basal layers epidermis indicative of electrocutive changes [].