Preservation of histological structure of cells in human skin presenting mummification and corification processes by Sandison's rehydrating solution

Abstract

Introduction: To overcome the difficulties of construction and interpretation of microscopic material from corpses presenting mummification and corification processes, a variety of techniques and tricks are used: in this research the results of applying the Sandison's rehydrating solution are presented, generally used in archeological field on Egyptian mummies of different ages, in human cadaveric material in an advanced state of decomposition.

Materials and methods: Nineteen skin specimens were taken from corpses presenting corification and mummification processes, discovered in a time ranging between one and four months and exhumed after 11 years. Each biological sample was divided into two parts: one, directly fixed in buffered formalin 10%; the other, preliminarily treated with the Sandison's rehydrating solution and, therefore, post-fixed in 10% buffered formalin. All samples were then carried out the routine histological preparation, and the sections were stained by hematoxylin-eosin and by other histochemical stains.

Results: Under the microscope, the samples placed directly into formalin, showed marked structural changes of the various components, while those previously rehydrated with the Sandison's rehydrating solution allowed the clear recognition of different structures.

Conclusions: The use of the Sandison's rehydrating solution on skin samples presenting corification and mummification processes, preserving significantly its general setting, stands as an indispensable procedure in the study of such cases.

Keywords: Autopsy; Corification; Forensic pathology; Mummification; Rehydrating solutions; Sandison.