J Forensic Sci, November 2010, Vol. 55, No.

6
doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01501.x
PAPER Available online at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

PATHOLOGY ⁄ BIOLOGY

Kusum D. Jashnani,1 M.B.B.S., M.D.; Smita A. Kale,1 M.B.B.S., M.D.;

and Asha B. Rupani,1 M.B.B.S., M.D.

Vitreous Humor: Biochemical Constituents in

Estimation of Postmortem Interval*, 

ABSTRACT: Analysis of biochemical constituents of the vitreous humor can be useful in determining the postmortem interval as there is pro-
portionate postmortem rise of potassium and fall in sodium concentration. We studied 120 autopsy cases to determine the utility of potassium,
sodium, calcium, and chloride levels, and sodium ⁄ potassium ratio in estimating the postmortem interval. There was a linear relationship between vit-
reous potassium concentration and postmortem interval, whereas an inverse relationship between vitreous sodium ⁄ potassium ratio and postmortem
interval was noted. Other factors like age, sex, cause of death, season of death, and refrigeration of sample did not influence the vitreous humor
potassium values. Using the statistical tools, a new formula was derived to determine the postmortem interval based on the potassium concentration
and a review of previous literature is presented. Hence, the findings of this study supported a central role of vitreous humor biochemistry in many
postmortem forensic and pathological evaluations.

KEYWORDS: forensic science, vitreous humor, postmortem interval, potassium levels, sodium ⁄ potassium ratio, statistical analysis

Postmortem interval (PMI) is the interval between death and the
time of postmortem examination. Determination of PMI is essential
in many criminal forensic investigations as well as in certain natu-
ral deaths (1,2). In spite of its great importance, determining the
accurate time of death is a recurring problem. Over the last few
decades, extensive work has been carried out to determine the PMI
from various physical changes as well as from the study of changes
in biochemical constituents in various body fluids like blood, cere-
bro-spinal fluid, and vitreous humor (VH) immediately or shortly
after the death (1–3). Analysis of chemical changes in the intraocu-
lar fluid, after death was introduced by Naumann (4) and has since
aroused a great deal of interest (5). In VH, a postmortem rise of
potassium and fall in sodium concentration proportional to PMI has
been reported (2,6–8). It can also be useful to the pathologists as
an important adjunct to confirm an antemortem diagnosis like dia-
betes or as a potential source of DNA (9,10). We therefore under-
took this study to understand the relevance of this correlation
between PMI and VH constituents in Indian conditions.
Materials and Methods
The objectives of this study were to determine the utility of bio-
chemical constituents of VH like potassium, sodium, calcium, and
1 gency hours, the samples were stored at 4C and subsequently ana-
Department of Pathology, Topiwala National Medical College and B Y L
Nair Charitable Hospital, Mumbai Central, Maharashtra 400 008, India.
*Funding provided by the Nair Golden Jubilee Research Fund (NGJRF) of
Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai, India.
Presented at the State Level Conference of Pathology, MAPCON 2007,
October 4–7, 2007, in Navi Mumbai, India; and at the Staff Society Meeting
of the Topiwala National Medical College, November 2007, in Mumbai,
India.
Received 24 May 2009; and in revised form 9 Aug. 2009; accepted 27
Sept. 2009.
chloride in estimating the PMI and to study the relationship
between ratio of postmortem vitreous sodium ⁄ potassium concentra-
tion and PMI. We also wanted to analyze the correlation between
VH potassium and other variables like age, gender, cause of death,
effects of seasonal variations, and refrigeration of the sample.
The present study was a prospective study in which VH samples
were collected from 120 autopsies conducted at our hospital during
a period of 15 months, from April 2006 to June 2007. The autopsy
subjects were all hospital deaths with known time of death and
involved resuscitation attempt. The excluding criteria were pediatric
cases and cases for eye donation. Written consent was taken from
the relatives. The relevant clinical data were obtained from the
medical records at the hospital.
In each case, about 3–4 mL of VH from one eye, either left or
right, was aspirated by making a puncture 5–6 mm away from the
sclero-corneal junction by using a 10 mL syringe and a 21-gauge
needle. Normal saline was replaced in the vitreous body for cos-
metic purpose (11). Careful and gentle suction was applied, and
residual fluid was left during sampling to avoid detachment and
contamination by retinal cells. Cloudy fluid or any fluid containing
particulate matter was rejected. The specimen obtained was placed
in a clean rubber-stoppered small glass bulb with a proper label.
The samples were processed in the biochemistry laboratory within
1 h of collection on working days. On nonworking days and emer-
lyzed. The samples were centrifuged at 2000 rotations per minute
for 5 min, and the supernatant was used for the estimation of potas-
sium, sodium, calcium, and chloride ions. Sodium and potassium
levels were determined by flame photometry FLM3 (Radiometer,
Bronshoj, Denmark), calcium by Olympus AU4OO (Olympus,
Nyon, Switzerland), and chloride by Biolyte 2000 (Biocare,
Hsinchu, Taiwan). While measuring all the four biochemical con-
stituents, known normal and abnormal quality control samples of

 2010 American Academy of Forensic Sciences 1523

1524 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES

TABLE 1—Table showing vital statistics of the four major electrolytes TABLE 2—Table showing correlation between time since death and
(1,14). postmortem vitreous humor potassium.

Normal value Range Variables Time Since Death Postmortem K

Electrolyte (mmol ⁄ L) (mmol ⁄ L) Mean SD p-Value
Time since death PC 1.000 0.698*
Potassium 5–8 4.80–45.60 11.06 6.36 8.08E–19 (<0.05) p-Value 8.08E–19 (<0.05)
Sodium 118–154 106–165 131.93 12.26 0.093 Postmortem K PC 0.698* 1.000
Calcium 6–8 5.40–10.10 7.20 0.81 0.127 p-Value 8.08E-19 (<0.05)
Chloride 114 69–192 95.54 14.35 0.347
Na ⁄ K ratio – 0.17–30 13.90 4.85 5.58E–18 (<0.05) *Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). PC, Pearson
correlation.
SD, standard deviation.

Bio-Rad Company (Irvine, CA) were used. The sodium and potas-
sium levels were calculated in all 120 subjects, calcium in 113 sub-
jects, and chloride in 119 subjects. The above investigations could
not be performed in all cases because of insufficient quantity of the
VH.
Statistical tests used were linear regression correlation analysis
and Pearson’s correlation tests to establish the correlation between
individual vitreous biochemical constituents and the PMI and their
significance (12,13). The linear regression formula to estimate the
PMI using individual vitreous biochemical constituent was derived.

Results
The results of the biochemical estimation of the four electrolytes
in VH are shown in Table 1. In this study, observations were made
up to 50 h postmortem. During the studied postmortem period, the
vitreous potassium represented a consistently linear rise with
increasing PMI (Table 2). The linear rise of vitreous potassium was
consistent in the early PMI with the range of scatter increasing in
the later postmortem hours especially after 20 h (Fig. 1). The slope
FIG. 1—Linear regression graph showing correlation between time since
of regression line for postmortem vitreous potassium rise with the
death and postmortem vitreous humor potassium.
increasing PMI was 0.929 mmol ⁄ L per hour with a 0 h ‘‘y’’ inter-
cept at 2.616 mmol ⁄ L. We also found that the measured postmor-
tem VH potassium and estimated potassium values as per time of
death showed good correlation (p-value of 2.30E-11 [<0.05]).
Measurement of sodium up to 50 h after death showed little
change. The linear regression graph between time since death and
postmortem VH sodium was horizontal, suggesting no correlation
between the two and also not statistically significant with the
p-value of 0.093 (Fig. 2, Table 1). However, it was observed that
the sodium to potassium ratio was indirectly proportional to PMI
(Fig. 3). This was also statistically significant with a p-value of
5.58E-18 (<0.05). The vitreous calcium and chloride concentration
did not change significantly following death according to the PMI
and were not statistically significant (Table 1).
In this study, the age of the deceased varied from 15 to 88 years
with mean of 51.5 years (SD = 17.65). The linear regression graph
between postmortem VH potassium and age of deceased was hori-
zontal, suggesting no correlation between the two (p-value of 0.631).
Seventy percent were men and 30% were women. No correlation
was observed between postmortem VH potassium and sex of
deceased (p-value of 0.382). The samples were collected throughout
the year in all seasons with 55.8% of the samples in monsoon and
30.8% and 13.4% during winter and summer, respectively. The sea-
FIG. 2—Linear regression graph showing correlation between time since
son had no effect on the postmortem VH potassium value (p-value of death and postmortem vitreous humor sodium.
0.984). Of the samples, 64.2% were refrigerated at 4C and analyzed
subsequently and 35.8% of the samples were analyzed immediately
within 1 h of the collection. It was observed that refrigeration of the death followed by intrapulmonary hemorrhages in acute febrile ill-
sample did not affect postmortem VH potassium value (p-value of ness and pneumonia. The cause of death had no effect on postmortem
0.336). The majority of the causes of death were related to infectious VH potassium value as in each case the p-value was more than 0.05.
diseases (92%), with septicemia and tuberculosis the major causes of Antemortem blood sodium and potassium values were available in
 JASHNANI ET AL. • VITREOUS HUMOR: ESTIMATION OF POSTMORTEM INTERVAL 1525

demonstrated the linear relationship between increase in vitreous

potassium concentration and increasing PMI (7).
In this study, the postmortem VH potassium values ranged
between 4.80 and 45.60 mmol ⁄ L and there was a linear rise of vit-
reous potassium in the early PMI. These results were similar to the
previous reports in literature (2,7). The slope of regression line for
postmortem vitreous potassium rise with increasing PMI was
0.929 mmol ⁄ L per hour with a 0 h ‘‘y’’ intercept of 2.616 mmol ⁄ L
(Fig. 1). Similarly, 0 h ‘‘y’’ intercept of 4.2 mmol ⁄ L has been
reported by James et al. (17) The variation in experimental meth-
ods and the sample characteristics may account for the differences
noted with the slopes in various studies. It is essential that the slope
of regression line be relatively steeper because flatter slopes tend to
overestimate the time since death based on the obtained regression
line and equation. Many equations and corresponding formulas
have been reported in literature to precisely estimate the PMI based
on postmortem vitreous potassium concentration. Many of these
equations are based on the linear regression model on the assump-
tion that the postmortem increase in the vitreous potassium is pro-
portional with time and changes at a constant rate. The earliest and
widely used equation was developed by Sturner and Gantner (5).
FIG. 3—Linear regression graph showing correlation between time since
death and postmortem vitreous humor sodium ⁄ potassium ratio. PMI (hours) ¼ ð7:14  Kþ Þ  39:1
A primary disadvantage of this equation was that a flat slope
TABLE 3—Comparison between antemortem blood and postmortem was reported with this equation and significant difference was
vitreous humor values of various variables.
observed between actual postmortem potassium and estimated
Variables No. Mean SD t-Value p-Value potassium value. Accurate PMI estimation was possible with sud-
den and traumatic deaths when compared to the hospital deaths
Comparison Antemortem Na 59 133.37 10.45 1.984 0.052 where severe antemortem electrolyte imbalance often upset the
between Postmortem Na 59 129.95 10.33 Difference is not
significant potassium values considerably (5). Later, Madea et al. (18) devised
Comparison Antemortem K 59 5.22 5.59 )5.256 2.20E-06 another equation.
between (<0.05)
Postmortem K 59 11.79 8.00 Difference is PMI (hours) ¼ ð5:26  Kþ Þ  30:9
significant
The linear regression derived by Madea et al. (18) had a steeper
slope and they suggested that Sturner’s equation systemically over-
59 cases (50%). Antemortem blood sodium values and postmortem estimated the PMI because of the flat slope, while their equation
VH sodium values were almost similar (p-value of 0.052), but a with a steeper slope had no systematic deviations. They concluded
significant difference was observed between antemortem blood potas- that when using vitreous potassium in estimation of the PMI, equa-
sium values and postmortem VH potassium values (Table 3). tion with a steeper slope should be preferred to avoid any system-
Antemortem calcium and chloride levels were available only in two atic overestimation as a result of flatter slopes. Recently, James
and one case, respectively, and hence, the correlation studies could et al. (17) also devised an equation for the estimation of PMI based
not be carried out. on postmortem potassium concentrations.
PMI (hours) ¼ ð4:32  Kþ Þ  18:35
Discussion
In spite of all conflicting reports in literature regarding the differ-
VH is a colorless, jelly-like, hydrophilic gel within the vitreous ent 95% confidence intervals and the best equation for practical
body, around 4–5 mL in quantity (14). It is preferred for postmor- use in PMI estimation, there is wide consensus on the linear
tem investigations because of its large volume and easy accessibil- increase in postmortem vitreous potassium with increasing PMI
ity (2). It contains 99% water and solids in the form of (17,18). In this study, antemortem serum potassium, when avail-
macromolecular and low molecular weight constituents, such as able, reflected the expected postmortem rise in vitreous values. By
sugars, urea, creatinine, and electrolytes. The various electrolytes using statistical tools, we derived the following formula:
that can be measured in VH are sodium, potassium, chloride, cal-
cium, and magnesium (15,16). VH is relatively inert and only Kþ ¼ 2:616 þ 0:929 (PMI in hours)
slightly influenced by sudden fluctuations in the blood chemistry PMI (hours) ¼ 1:076 ðKþ Þ  2:815
(2). The concentration of sodium is equal to that of plasma indicat-
ing passive diffusion. The potassium concentration of VH is Thus, the measurement of VH potassium possesses inherent tech-
slightly higher than the plasma because of an active transport of nical advantages and surmounts exterior influences offering an
potassium across the ciliary body into the posterior chamber and exciting new tool for future forensic studies. While in investigations
through the anterior capsule of the lens and passive diffusion the PMI has been used as independent and potassium as dependent
through the posterior capsule of the lens into the vitreous body (5). variable in the linear regression analysis, the recent use of potas-
After death, there is steady potassium leak through the cell mem- sium as independent variable has been useful for more accurate
brane to approach equilibrium with the plasma in the postmortem death time estimation as the use of sodium ⁄ potassium ratio in our
period, which helps to estimate the PMI. Numerous workers have study (8,19). Also as the Figs. 1 and 3 show, the various amount
1526 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
of scatter indicates that no one test can confidently predict the
PMI. James et al. (17) in their study of 100 autopsy cases observed
that using both potassium and hypoxanthine measurements to esti-
mate the PMI were associated with increased accuracy in all
circumstances.
Vitreous sodium, calcium, and chloride concentration had no role
in estimating PMI in this study as also mentioned by other
investigators (15). Dufour reported (20) no significant change in
postmortem vitreous calcium when compared to antemortem serum
calcium.
The postmortem VH sodium to potassium ratio varied from 0.17
to 30.00, with the mean of 13.90 (SD = 4.85) and it was observed
that the ratio was indirectly proportional to the PMI. This observa-
tion is similar to the one of Singh et al. (21), who found the ratio
useful in their 1026 cases where it decreased rapidly from mean
value of 24.22 € 7.59 at PMI of <3 h to mean value of
14.93 € 4.47 at postmortem interval of 15–18 h and then at a pro-
gressively slower rate to mean value of 6.95 € 1.88 at postmortem
interval of 60–66 h. They also observed that the relationship of
ratio with environmental temperature, age, gender, and cause of
death was highly significant. Postmortem interval could be pre-
dicted from vitreous sodium ⁄ potassium electrolytes concentration
ratio, with standard error of estimate 0.18 h (21). Hence, besides
potassium concentration, sodium ⁄ potassium ratio can also be uti-
lized as an additional parameter for PMI estimation.
Antemortem blood sodium and potassium values were available
in 59 cases (50%). Antemortem blood sodium values and postmor-
tem VH sodium values were almost similar (p-value of 0.052), but
significant difference was observed between antemortem blood
potassium values and postmortem VH potassium values. From
these observations, evaporation can be dismissed as the cause of
rise in the vitreous potassium concentration after death as no simi-
lar type of change has been demonstrated in the sodium concentra-
tion. These findings support the previous observation that sodium
has no role in estimating PMI. Jaffe in his study (22) also elimi-
nated evaporation as a cause of postmortem rise of vitreous potas-
sium by demonstrating the stability of sodium and chloride
concentrations.
In this study, age of deceased varied from 15 to 88 years with
mean of 51.5 (SD = 17.65). The linear regression graph between
postmortem VH potassium and age of deceased was horizontal,
suggesting no correlation between the two (p-value of 0.631). This
result is in accordance with the result of Garg et al. (2) However, a
study by Coe suggested that age of the individual may have some
effect on the vitreous potassium (23).
No correlation was observed between postmortem VH potassium
and sex of deceased (p-value of 0.382), which is in accordance
with the result of Garg et al. (2). Singh et al. (21) observed gender
variation in sodium ⁄ potassium ratio. They proposed that abundant
subcutaneous tissue in women retains body heat for longer period,
which heightens the process of decomposition, thereby probably
enhancing the process of diffusion of electrolytes (21).
During monsoon, 55.8% of the samples were collected and
30.8% and 13.3% were collected during winter and summer,
respectively. It was observed that there was no effect of season of
death on postmortem VH potassium value (p-value of 0.984). Simi-
lar results were obtained by others who commented on the lack of
influence of environmental temperature (2), although vitreous potas-
sium concentrations in Bray’s study (24) were found to be lower in
the cold weather. Komura and Oshiro (25) were among the early
investigators to suggest a significant influence of ambient tempera-
ture on vitreous potassium concentration. They found that the
bodies at warmer temperatures had higher vitreous potassium levels
than those present at lower temperature. This study was carried out
in Mumbai, a city on the western coast of India, where temperature
difference seen between the different seasons is not much. This can
explain the lack of influence of environmental temperature on post-
mortem VH potassium value. In this study, 35.8% of the samples
were analyzed immediately within 1 h of collection and 64.2% of
the samples were refrigerated at 4C and analyzed subsequently. It
was observed that refrigeration of sample did not affect postmortem
VH potassium value (p-value of 0.336). This result is similar to
that of Garg et al. (2) However, others have reported that freezing
and thawing can cause increase in potassium concentration, other
chemical analytes, and osmolality (26,27). The body temperature at
the time of death in cases of infectious diseases was not taken into
consideration and would require further studies.
Septicemia and tuberculosis were major causes of death among
the deceased followed by intrapulmonary hemorrhages in acute feb-
rile illness and pneumonia. It was observed in our study that cause
of death has no effect on postmortem vitreous potassium value.
Among other studies in the literature, based on cases of sudden
deaths after chronic diseases, Madea et al. (18) suggested 95% lim-
its of confidence in the range of €34 h up to 120 h postmortem.
This discrepancy may be a result of antemortem electrolyte imbal-
ances caused by the chronic diseases. Potassium values in burn
cases were found to be higher than the nonburn cases by Garg
et al. (2).
It is necessary to remove all of the fluid from the eye that can
be aspirated because the VH next to retina has a different concen-
tration of solutes than in the central portion of the globe until putre-
faction sets in. Therefore, an accurate measure of the vitreous level
of a solute requires a total removal of the VH as is possible as also
stressed by Lie without forceful aspiration (28). Also the vitreous
must be aspirated slowly to avoid tearing loose fragments of tissue.
Such tissue fragments grossly distort the electrolytes in the vitreous
as it is from such cells that most of the electrolytes are derived.
Hence, while aspiration, we left behind a residual VH to avoid
contamination.
Studies in the past have demonstrated that the values of potas-
sium manifest in the vitreous will vary with the instrumentation
used to measure the concentration (29,30). However, we were
unable to explore this aspect in our study. The most important con-
cern in utilizing vitreous biochemistry for crucial forensic pathology
determinations arises from the observed between eye differences at
identical PMI (13,31). However, we did not measure VH electro-
lytes in both eyes but aspirated VH from either the left or right
eye, which ever was convenient.
To conclude, the results of this study show that VH potassium and
sodium ⁄ potassium concentration ratio play a significant role in esti-
mating the PMI. The sodium, calcium, and chloride levels have no
role in estimating PMI. Other factors like age, sex, cause of death, sea-
son of death, and refrigeration of sample does not influence VH potas-
sium values. Once obtained, VH may be refrigerated for lengthy
periods without deterioration. Evaporation can be dismissed as the
cause of the rise in the VH potassium concentration after death as no
similar changes were demonstrated in the sodium concentration.
Unique advantages of this method are that it is extremely simple,
requiring inexpensive apparatus for the collection of sample and its
processing. The findings of this study support a central role of VH bio-
chemistry in many postmortem forensic and pathological evaluations.
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Additional information—reprints not available from author:
Kusum D. Jashnani, M.B.B.S., M.D.
8, Ashirwad, 1st Floor
Opposite Kakad Industrial Estate
L. J. Cross Road-3, Mahim
Mumbai 400016
India
E-mail: kusumjash@hotmail.com