Monitoring changes in the eyes – The significance of the post-mortem interval in asphyxia

Post-mortem ocular changes, particularly those affecting thesclera, are valuable indicators in forensic pathology for theestimation of post-mortem interval (PMI) and the evaluationof tissue decomposition. Previous studies have shown that darkscleral spots can appear within hours after death, influencedby eyelid position and environmental conditions. Our researchaimed to examine how postmortem scleral changes progressover time and whether they are affected by environmental orphysiological factors.Twelve Wistar rats were divided into four groups: K – controlgroup, autopsy performed immediately after death (n=3); A – 24-hour postmortem interval (n=3); B – 48-hour interval (n=3); C -72-hour interval (n=3). All rats died by asphyxia due to hanging.Temperature measured during the study included: antemortemcore temperature, ambient temperature, postmortem coretemperature, postmortem eye temperature, and eye temperatureat autopsy. Each eye sample was examined macroscopically forcorneal and scleral changes relative to the postmortem interval.Ambient temperature significantly influenced the postmortembody temperature of the rats. With increasing postmorteminterval, ocular changes, such as corneal dryness and appearanceof scleral spots, became more pronounced.This pilot study demonstrated that, despite anatomicaldifferences from human cadavers, the Wistar rat model providesa reliable experimental framework for studying postmortemscleral changes and related temperature patterns. These findingscan enhance forensic investigations and support future researchon ocular indicators of the postmortem interval.