Technical Note

Wischnewsky spots are disseminated, dark lesions in gastric mucosa reflecting hemorrhage associated with fatal hypothermia, and are a phenomenon well known to forensic pathologists. We applied luminol and leucomalachite green tests to formalin-fixed gastric mucosa with Wischnewsky spots in autopsy cases of hypothermia. Both luminol and leucomalachite green tests showed positive reactions. We describe the technical significance of these tests in forensic diagnosis, in that luminol and leucomalachite green tests may be useful in forensic autopsy cases, and may also be useful for formalin-fixed organs.