Techniques in Forensic Cytology: The road ahead

Abstract

Cytology evolved as a branch of biology which later became integrated into many of the fields such as botany and health sciences  including forensic case work. In the vast majority of the forensic cases, tissue samples are retained for histology to make a scientific  inquiry into the cause of death. Additional questions that need to be treated include vitality, timing, and causes of injuries and their  differentiation from post-mortem changes. In the strictest sense, the cytological examination done on tissues rather than a cell or a  group of cells is not a cytological diagnosis but a histological one. With the advent of new techniques, cytology has become a  significant contributor in solving crimes but has remained an orphan speciality in the developing nations. Traditionally the cytological  examination has always been correlated with crime investigations in sexual assaults, but in the present era, cytology can be of robust  help in a myriad of cases of amniotic fluid embolism, fat embolism, wound ballistics, sex determination, etc. The present paper gives a  brief review of the current practices in Forensic Cytology and discusses the recent advances. It also provides an insight into the  possible future implications of these techniques for the crime investigation.