Wound Age Estimation by Neutrophil Migration Distance

Area of Science:

• Forensic Pathology
• Trauma Research
• Histology

Background:

• Accurate wound age estimation is crucial in forensic investigations.
• Skeletal muscle injuries present unique challenges for post-mortem interval determination.
• Neutrophil response is a key indicator of acute inflammation following tissue injury.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of neutrophil migration distance for estimating skeletal muscle wound age in rats.
• To establish a methodological foundation for future research on skeletal muscle trauma analysis.
• To correlate neutrophil behavior with the time elapsed since skeletal muscle injury.

Main Methods:

• Establishment of a rat skeletal muscle contusion model.
• Grouping of rats into control and post-traumatic (2, 4, 6 hours) cohorts.
• Immunohistochemical staining to detect neutrophil infiltration.
• TissueFAXS PLUS software analysis to quantify neutrophil migration distance and correlate with injury time.

Main Results:

• Significant neutrophil infiltration observed in skeletal muscle 2-6 hours post-injury.
• Neutrophil positive rate peaked at 4 hours (45.50±3.63%) and decreased by 6 hours.
• Neutrophil migration distance progressively increased, reaching 335.04±16.75 μm at 6 hours.

Conclusions:

• A direct relationship exists between neutrophil count, migration distance, and skeletal muscle wound age within 6 hours post-injury.
• Neutrophil migration parameters offer a viable method for inferring the age of skeletal muscle wounds.
• This study provides a basis for applying neutrophil dynamics in forensic wound age assessment.