Pitfalls of toxicological investigations in hair, bones, and nails in extensively decomposed bodies: illustration with two cases.

It is difficult to carry out toxicological investigations in biological samples collected from extensively decomposed bodies and to interpret obtained results as several pitfalls should be considered: redistribution phenomena, degradation of xenobiotics during the postmortem period, contamination by putrefaction fluids, and external contamination. This work aims to present two cases in order to illustrate and discuss these difficulties in this tricky situation. Case#1: the body of a 30-year-old woman was found in a wooded area (1 month after she has been reported missing by her family): hair and a femur section were sampled.