ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 April 1980
Page Count: 5

The Comparison of Alcohol Concentrations in Postmortem Fluids and Tissues
Sopher, IM
Chief toxicologist, assistant medical examiner, and chief medical examiner, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of West Virginia

Backer, RC
Chief toxicologist, assistant medical examiner, and chief medical examiner, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of West Virginia

Pisano, RV
Chief toxicologist, assistant medical examiner, and chief medical examiner, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of West Virginia

(Received 10 April 1979; accepted 10 October 1979)

Abstract

Fluid-tissue/blood alcohol ratios were calculated for a number of cases. The use of such factors to determine the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) becomes important when a blood specimen is not available or is contaminated. It was shown that estimates of blood alcohol concentrations derived from other physiological fluids or tissues can only be expressed as lying within a wide concentration range. Estimations of the BAC can be improved by using the stomach alcohol concentrations to determine if the deceased was in an absorption or postabsorption phase at the time of death.

Keywords:
toxicology, alcohol, postmortem examinations

Paper ID: JFS12130J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS12130J
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