Differences in Histopathological Picture of Lung Organs in Sprague Dowley White Rats that Die Drowning in Salt Water and Fresh Water

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the differences in the pulmonary histopathology of the drowned victims in salt water and fresh water. By utilizing a post-test only control design, the research used Sprague Dawley lab rat as the main subject of the experiment. The subject would be drowned in two different types of water, which were salt water and fresh water. There were fifteen male rats which divided evenly into three separate groups. The first group was subjected to salt water, and the second group was subjected to fresh water. The last group was a control group. The result from the test was analyzed by comparing the lung tissue histopathological structure of the subject for the salt water group and the fresh water group. On the outcome, there was a significant difference between interalveolar haemorrhage in the lung of a mouse drowned in salt water and submerged in fresh water. In addition, there was over-distension of the alveoli, thinning of the alveolar septal wall in both groups. The result of the experiment showed that there was a significant interalveolar haemorrhage difference in the histopathological structure between the salt water group and the fresh water group. Keywords: pulmonary histopathology, drowning, alveolus, white rat