Autolytic changes in blood cells of albino rats a post-mortem morphologic study

ABSTRACT

The morphology of various types of cells in the peripheral blood of albinorats cadavers was investigated. The material comprised 32 adult male albinorats from which ante-mortem blood samples were compared to postmortem samplestaken every hour up to 6 hours after death. The rat corpses were eitherexposed to the environmental temperature [31 +/- 3C], or kept at +10C in anincubator. The red cell count, and the total white cell and platelet countsdecreased significantly during the first few hours postmortem in theenvironmentally-exposed group of corpses. Red cells were quite rapidlytransformed from the normal rounded discoid configuration to acquireinvaginations, crenations and later on, spheroidal configuration and membraneabsorption. Rapid deterioration of the staining properties, and markedmorphological changes in many leucocytes occurred quite rapidly after death. Lymphocytes seemed to be the most resistant to the effect of autolysis. Thepresent morphological observations and the quantitative results suggested thatvarious cellular elements of the blood seem to be quite resistant to autolyticeffects in the early postmortem period, and many cells apparently retain theirnormal morphology for longer periods of time in the blood of rat cadavers keptat reduced temperature