DISTRIBUTION OF ETHANOL IN POSTMORTEM LIVER

The analysis of multiple specimens for ethanol has become a necessary and accepted practice in postmortem forensic toxicology. The correlati on between blood and various body fluids has been well documented. How ever, there is little data on the distribution of ethamol in specimens such as the liver. In postmortem cases where blood is unavailable or contaminated, liver may be used for alcohol and drug analyses. This st udy reports the analysis, by head space gas chromatography, of heart b lood and liver specimens for ethanol from 103 postmortem cases. The av erage liver/heart blood ratio in cases with a blood alcohol level (BAG ) greater than or equal to 0.04 g/dL was 0.56, SD = 0.30, with a range of 0-1.40.