Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Phenol: tissue distribution in a fatality.

C Lo Dico¹, Y H Caplan, B Levine

¹Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Baltimore, MD.

Journal of Forensic Sciences

|July 1, 1989

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Multi-site feasibility of a web-based and telephone navigation intervention to connect lung cancer caregivers in community oncology settings with resources: Protocol for the WF-2301CD Caregiver Oncology Needs Evaluation Tool (CONNECT) trial.

Contemporary clinical trials·2026

Same author

Sleep selectively and durably enhances memory for the sequence of real-world experiences.

Nature human behaviour·2025

Same author

Advancing youth tobacco surveillance with novel methods.

Health education research·2024

Same author

No evidence of risk-taking or impulsive behaviour in a person with episodic amnesia: Implications for the role of the hippocampus in future-regarding decision-making.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2015

Same author

Stability of Drugs of Abuse in Biological Specimens.

Forensic science review·2015

Same author

Improved upper limits on the stochastic gravitational-wave background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo data.

Physical review letters·2014

Phenol ingestion can be fatal, as seen in a case involving a 40-year-old female. Postmortem analysis revealed high phenol concentrations in various tissues, highlighting its toxicity.

Area of Science:

Forensic Toxicology
Clinical Chemistry

Background:

Phenol, a common disinfectant, is highly toxic when ingested.
Accidental or intentional ingestion of phenol can lead to severe poisoning.

Observation:

A case report details the fatal ingestion of phenol by a 40-year-old female.
Phenol concentrations were measured in blood, urine, bile, and multiple organs.

Findings:

Blood phenol level was 130 mg/L, with higher concentrations in the brain (486 mg/kg) and stomach content (668 mg).
Elevated phenol levels were also found in kidney (331 mg/kg), liver (228 mg/kg), muscle (204 mg/kg), and bile (187 mg/L).
These findings were compared with existing literature data on phenol toxicity.

Implications:

Related Experiment Videos

This case underscores the lethal potential of phenol ingestion.
Accurate toxicological analysis is crucial for determining cause of death in phenol poisoning cases.
Understanding tissue distribution aids in interpreting postmortem findings.