Alteration of heavy metal contents in human corpse bones and its significance in estimation of postmortem interval

Objective To explore the alteration of heavy metal contents in femurs of skeletonized human remains (SHR) and its relation to postmortem interval (PMI) estimation.Methods Contents of lead and cadmium in femurs of SHR were measured with graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and the content of mercury was determined with atomic fluorescence spectrometry.The data were statistically analyzed with R software.Results With the extension of time after death,cadmium and mercury contents in the femurs of SHR gradually reduced but the lead changed irregularly.The results of regression analysis for the relationship between the metal contents and PMI showed that the mixed model could estimate the death time of 15 SHR much more correctly than the linear mode,but the random part of the mixed model could lead to a substantial error.Conclusion Alteration of mercury and cadmium content in bones of KHR could be used to estimate PMI.