Postmortem vitreous humor in fatal acute iron poisoning

The postmortem level of iron in the vitreous humor was assayed in a case of treated fatal iron poisoning. An antemortem serum iron level was 9060 micrograms/dL and postmortem blood level was 2920 micrograms/dL. A postmortem vitreous humor specimen collected by a standard technique had an iron level of 80 micrograms/dL whereas 23 controls had a mean of 12.8 +/- 4.2 micrograms/dL (range, 6 to 21 micrograms/dL). Although this elevated value could reflect some serum contamination, it may be a reflection of the toxic state.