RESUMO
In order to provide insights into sampling in suspected cases of morphine poisoning,the present study was conducted to investigate the distribution patterns of morphine in organs in rats with acute morphine poisoning at different post mortem intervals.Localization and semi quantitation of morphine in the brain,kidney,heart and liver were determined in rats at 15min to 5h after intravenous administration of morphine and at different intervals from 0 to 48h after death using the immunohistochemical SP method and image analysis.The results showed that the morphine could be detected in cytoplasms of certain parenchymal cells in all organs examined short time after delivery of morphine.With the extension of post delivery intervals,the level of morphine inereased,peaked,followed by decrease thereafter.The amount and the distribution patterns of morphine varied greatly with different organs.In the brain,the morphine could be detected earlier than in the heart,kidney and liver.It could detected 15min after the drug administration,with a peak,and disppeared at 5h after drug delivery.It decayed slowly as compared with the heart and lung.The kidney was the second organ in which the morphine was detected early with a high level and decayed slowly.In conclusion,immunohistochemical SP method can be used as a specific technique to detect morphine in organs in suspected cases of morphine poisoning.Both brain and kidney were the candidates for sampling in such case.