Journal of Forensic Medicine ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (1): 3-13.DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2021.410625

Special Issue: 水中尸体研究专题

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Review and Prospect of Diagnosis of Drowning Deaths in Water

Chao LIU1(), Bin CONG2()   

  1. 1.Guangzhou Forensic Science Institute & Key Laboratory of Forensic Pathology, Ministry of Public Security, Guangzhou 510442, China
    2.Hebei Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, College of Forensic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050011, China
  • Received:2021-06-30 Online:2022-02-25 Published:2022-02-28
  • Contact: Bin CONG

Abstract:

Drowning is the death caused by asphyxiation due to fluid blocking the airway. In the practice of forensic medicine, it is the key to determine whether the corpse was drowned or entered the water after death. At the same time, the drowning site inference and postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) play an important role in the investigating the identity of the deceased, narrowing the investigation scope, and solving the case. Based on diatoms testing, molecular biology, imaging and artificial intelligence and other technologies, domestic and foreign forensic scientists have done relative research in the identification of the cause of death, drowning site inference and PMSI, and achieved certain results in forensic medicine application. In order to provide a reference for future study of bodies in the water, this paper summarizes the above research contents.

Key words: forensic pathology, drowning, drowning individual in water, cause of death, drowning site inference, postmortem submersion interval, review

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