Estimation of post mortem interval by tomographic images of intra-cardiac hypostasis.

The determination of the post mortem interval (PMI) is important in many instances, especially in criminal investigations. So, we consider post mortem tomographic evaluation of intra-cardiac hypostasis as an additional method for such purpose. Tomographic images of the thoraces of the corpses of 23 patients who died in a hospital were obtained sequentially at one hour intervals to allow the analysis of changes in density due to hypostasis over time.