Diatoms

• Rolein diagnosing ante-

mortem and post-mortem
drowning
Group members
Rimsha Mazhar
Warda Saeed
Azam Malik
Zameer ul Hassan
Learning objectives
• What are diatoms?
• What is their structure?
• What is their role in forensic?
• How do diatoms help us in postmortem studies?
• What test is performed to study diatoms?
 Introduction to diatoms

Morphology

Fresh and marine water diatoms

Forensic significance

Road map Diatom’s test

• Principle
• Procedure
Simulated drowning deaths

Locating the place of death

Limitations

Summary
Introduction to Diatoms
• Are a major group of algae specifically microalgae, found in the oceans, waterways,
and soils of the world.

• Diatoms are
• unicellular,
• Photosynthetic
• eukaryotic organisms
CONT.

• Their uniqueness lies in the siliceous covering of the cell each being encased in a pair

of silica valves

• Silica is virtually inert and indestructible

• After the organism’s death the silica part remains.

• The silica parts provide information for the classification of these diverse organisms.
Morphology

Generally, 2 to 200 micrometers in Yellowish-brown chloroplasts are Contain pigments such as

size site of photosynthesis the carotenoid fucoxanthin

The siliceous wall can be highly

patterned with a variety of
• Pores
Atoms build intricate hard but They are composed primarily • Ribs
porous cell walls called frustules of silica
• Minute spines
• Marginal ridges
Fresh and marine water diatoms

Freshwater diatoms Marine water diatoms

Present in fresh-water reservoirs [ rivers, canals] Present in oceans and stagnant water

Diatoms vary <6 orders of magnitude Span almost 9 orders of magnitude in cell
volume

The largest cells ≈106 μm3 Largest species reaching >109 μm3

Lesser amount of silica in cell wall Greater amount of silica in cell wall
Some fresh-water diatoms Some marine diatoms
General structure
of a diatom
Forensic significance
Drowning deaths
• Helps to ascertain the cause of death in drowned bodies
• Differentiation of antemortem and post-mortem drowning
• Detecting fresh water and marine water drowning.
• Helps in limiting the rapid putrefaction of bodies.

Time of death estimation

• Quantity of diatoms present on the organism and may be able to estimate a
generalized time of death.
• For example,
• Fewer than 20 different species of colonizing diatoms indicate previous 7 to 12
days
• More than 50 different colonies of diatoms determine that death possibly
occurred several weeks ago
Diatoms test

• Principle

• Based upon the presence of diatoms in body systems

• That the diatoms are present in a medium where drowning took place

• Inhaled water caused the diatoms to enter the respiratory spaces

• And penetrates from alveoli into the blood circulation

• Thus, unicellular diatoms are transported to organ systems

Procedure
• Extraction from samples:
• This method is used when the body is highly decomposed.
• Involves
• Taking tissue samples from the body
• Acidic or enzymatic digestion of tissues
• Heating the sample to degrade human nucleic acids
• Centrifugation and washing for sediments
• Sediment transferred to slide to examine under phases contrast microscope
Cont.
• Detection from internal organs
• Brain, liver, kidneys, and lungs are examined mainly
• Diatoms were also found in the sinus, bone marrow, and sternum of drowned
bodies
• When a person is drowned, aspiration of water can enter diatoms in the lungs
• Forceful inspiration and expiration causes microscopic tears in the alveolar wall
• Diatoms thus enter the bloodstream and get lodged into internal organs
Cont.
• DNA sequencing
• DNA sequencing can also be used in testing diatoms.
• Analyzing the base sequence of a DNA fragment from the diatom
• identifying species by DNA markers.
• PCR technique can be used to amplify the gene which is to be analyzed.
Manner of death
• Killing and dumping the body in water is called post-mortem drowning

• Diatoms are not found in the bloodstream and internal organs of these bodies

• Diatoms are not tested from the body surface to minimize error

• This helps in rapid actions to identify the manner of death

• This saves time, recourses, and avoid further putrefaction of the corpse
Locating the place of death

• Diatoms are very diverse

• They inhabit water depending upon their optimum ph and temperature

• If diatoms are found in the body nearby water reservoirs are tested

• Reservoirs with the same diversity of diatoms can be the possible place of death
Limitations
• Presence of diatoms in high abundance is required in putative site
• Rapid death in a water body in case of an underlying injury
• Victim’s heart conditions or weakness of the pulmonary and circulatory system
• Decrease in the length of time taken for that reduce the quantity of water inhaled
• Strong acids when heated eliminate harmful gases and cause health hazards
• Largest diatom that can penetrate the alveolo-capillary barrier is 110μm
• The diatoms detected in internal organs were of size less than 30μm.
Case study
Objective
The diatoms found inside the body of drowned victim may serve as corroborative or even
conclusive evidence to support the diagnosis of death. It can be ascertained whether the
drowning is ante-mortem or post-mortem
The present study was conducted in Biology and Serology Division of State Forensic
Science Laboratory, Shimla Hills Junga, Himachal Pradesh, India.
Case report
• Water sample from putative site of drowning
• hard bones (sternum, clavicle, femur)
• soft tissue (spleen, liver, kidney)
• peritoneal/pleural cavity fluid
• After post-mortem examination of dead body was sent to the Laboratory for the
detection of diatoms.
• Cases were opened and processed following standard methodology.
• In the present study, 17 cases of drowning were examined for detection of diatoms.
• Out of seventeen cases,
• there were 15 males & 2 females
• age between 11-63 years.
• 12 cases revealed the presence of diatoms (death due to drowning) while 5 were
found to be negative (death other than drowning).
• Conclusion: The present study revealed the importance of diatom test in forensic
investigation and diagnosis of death due to drowning. Diatom test proved very
significant application in forensic science in solving the drowning cases.
Summary
References:
• https://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/ijmtfm/article/view/14047
• https://
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmac
eutical-science/diatom

• https://www.msjonline.org/index.php/ijrms/article/view/744
ANY QUESTIONS?