Diatom Test Paper

The diatom test is a post-mortem investigation very useful to determine if a person drown in the place they were found or if the body was disposed post-morten there. The principle behind the diatom test is the detection of a micro algae species that are normally present in water bodies.
With diatom analysis, if a person dies by drowning in a water body where diatoms are present, the water ends can be found inside the deceased lungs. As a result of a person drowning (normally the person struggles for about two and three minutes before they die) these micro algae passes onto the circulatory system, and is transported by blood to other organs such as the liver, the kidneys, and the bone narrow. If the person is already dead when they are thrown …show more content…
It is paramount that sterile material and a meticulous clean technique is followed.
Once samples have been collected, slices are produced and analysed under the microscope. There are several species of diatoms of different sizes, and they have to be identified and catalogued. The aim is to compare samples from the tissues with the water samples and see if the species found are the same. If the species identified on both samples match, this would mean that the deceased drowned in that water body. A negative result would indicate the deceased passed away in a different area, and then the body was likely disposed in that body water.
Quantification of the number of microalgae its important. Number and frequency of the diatoms found is relevant. The number of diatoms in the body water and lung samples are going to be similar, however there would be a substantial drop off on the numbers when it comes to samples from organs such as liver, kidneys, and bone narrow, main reason being that only very small species of diatoms can trespass the alveoli wall to enter the blood