Usefulness of selected microscopic morphological changes in determining the age of subdural hematomas

: The objective of the study was to assess the usefulness of selected microscopic changes for determining the age of subdural hematoma (SDH). The research was based on microscopic examination of histopathological preparations representing SDHs collected in the course of 76 forensic autopsies performed in the Chair and Department of Forensic Medicine, Warsaw Medical University, Poland. The deceased had SDH after head injuries and the time of injury was known. H.E. and Masson's staining was employed for qualitative and quantitative determinations. The presence of hematoma capsules, as well as hematoidin and hemosiderine deposits were analyzed. The results suggest that microscopic SDH examinations based on the afore-said features is a helpful method for determining the age of SDHs. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that qualitative techniques of SDHs dating are more accurate than quantitative ones.