The intensity of the inflammatory response in experimental porcine bruises depends on time, anatomical location and sampling site

Publication date: Available online 23 June 2018 Source:Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine Author(s): Kristiane Barington, Kerstin Skovgaard, Nicole Lind Henriksen, Anne Sofie Boyum Johansen, Henrik Elvang Jensen The assessment of the age of bruises inflicted on livestock is an important component of veterinary forensic pathology investigations. However, the sampling site within a bruise, the anatomical location and the mass and speed of the object inflicting the blunt trauma might influence the intensity of the inflammatory reaction. In the present study, the variation of the inflammatory reaction within and along experimental porcine bruises was evaluated in order to determine the optimal sampling site. Moreover, we evaluated if a combination of histological characteristics and gene expression signatures was able to differentiate bruises according to anatomical location, age of bruises and the speed and mass of the object used to cause the impact. Twelve experimental slaughter pigs were anesthetized, and on each animal four blunt traumas were inflicted on the back using either a plastic tube or an iron bar, respectively. The pigs were euthanized at 2, 5 or 8 h after infliction. Following gross examination, skin and underlying muscle tissue were sampled from the center and both ends of bruises and evaluated histologically. Subcutaneous fat tissue from the center of the bruises was sampled for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to evaluate mRNA expre...
Source: Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine - Category: Forensic Medicine Source Type: research