A Systematic Review on Various Diatoms Species Associated with Drowning

Authors: Singh AR* and Verma P

Volume 4, Issue 1

Abstract

Diatoms are microscopic unicellular photosynthetic organisms with widespread distribution. Diatoms come under a branch of phycology with membrane bound nucleus that separates them from prokaryotes. When the person gets drowned in water containing diatoms then due to force full aspirations they get enter into the lungs and from lungs they get lodged into the distant organs of the body. Various tests have been developed so far for the diagnosis of drowning deaths. Diatoms test have been evolved as one of the most important tests for determination of drowning deaths due to its higher specificity and sensitivity. The extraction methods of diatoms from tissue samples is based on digestive capability, reclaiming ratio of diatoms, destruction of diatoms samples and time consumed for complete diatom digestion. This paper reviewed the recent year’s progress in diatom test, samples used and species of diatoms associated with drowning.

Keywords: Diatoms; Frustules; Drowning; Acid digestion; Microscope; Species

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