Histologic changes in traumatized skeletal muscle exposed to seawater: a canine cadaver study

Wounds were created by incision in skeletal muscle of 2 mixed-breed canine cadavers at multiple time points from 0.5 to 74.5 hours postmortem and were exposed to artificial seawater (35 parts per thousand), 0.9% saline (8 parts per thousand), or freshwater for 24 hours before fixation for histology. Discoid and segmental disintegration of myofibers deep to the severed edges was observed in injuries inflicted within 6.5 hours of death and exposed to 0.9% saline and seawater and was not observed in injuries made at later time points or in other treatments. Exposure to artificial seawater had pronounced effects on histomorphology that markedly diminished with increasing postmortem wounding interval. In a third cadaver, these changes were shown to be detectable with confidence following up to 10 days of submergence in seawater at 22.2°C despite decomposition. These findings are important for evaluation of skeletal muscle injuries that are exposed to seawater, such as those occurring in marine animals, and may assist in recognizing wounds inflicted either antemortem or within the supravital period.