Abstract: Objective To investigate the value of optical coherence tomography （OCT） in the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction in forensic identification. Methods OCT and hematoxylin-eosin （HE） examination were performed to examine the pathological samples of coronary artery and myocardial infarction in 5 cases of sudden coronary death. The morphological and local measurement indexes were compared. Results In the OCT images, the layers of coronary artery could be distinguishably featured, and the atheroma plaques had a good morphological correspondence with HE slices. The normal myocardia in the OCT image showed weak light signals with high absorbance, while the fiber scar tissues in the myocardial infarction areas showed strong light signals with low absorbance. There were no significant differences on the fibrous cap thickness in coronary atherosclerotic plaques or intima-media thickness between the OCT images and the HE slices （P>0.05）. In the OCT images, the optical densities of the old myocardial infarction areas （1 226.24±622.66） and those of normal myocardia （3 707.90±962.98） were significantly different （P<0.05）. Conclusion The OCT image has a good morphological consistency with HE slice, thus is expected to be the primary screening method for the forensic pathology examination of coronary artery atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction, which can help to improve the diagnostic accuracy.

Key words: forensic pathology, tomography, optical coherence, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction