[Observation on postmortem tracheal cilia of drowning by scanning electron microscope (SEM)]

The changes of tracheal cilia of drowning rat were observed by SEM at 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 h after death. The authors found: the tracheal cilia lost their normal arrangement in some area, and the opening increased on the top of the Goblet cell. There were some thing resembling cotton, or looking like network on the surface of tracheal cilia. At different times after death, the tracheal cilia appeared adhering, downing, and destroying, Goblet cell membrane creasing, the top of cell flattening and the cell collapsing. Observing this changes, we could estimate the time of death.