Double logarithmic, linear relationship between plasma sodium/potassium concentration ratio and postmortem interval during the 6-96-h postmortem period in rats |
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| Authors: | D Querido |
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| Institution: | Department of Physiology, University of Cape Town Medical School, Observatory, Republic of South Africa. |
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| Abstract: | Flame photometric determination of sodium and potassium concentrations in postmortem rat plasma (n = 40) revealed the existence of a linear and inverse relationship, of high correlation (r = -0.986; P less than 0.001), between the logarithm of the plasma sodium/potassium concentration ratio (PNa/PK) and the logarithm of postmortem interval (PMI) during the 6-96-h postmortem period. This relationship, which has not been reported previously in the forensic literature, offers a simple and potentially valuable means of estimating the PMI in man. |
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