Mucosal secretin content in postmortem tissues.

Since human tissues are generally obtained at autopsy performed some hours after death, it is necessary to extrapolate from the observed concentration what the values might have been antemortem. In this study, we investigated the changes of secretin in gastrointestinal mucosa in man and rats under differing conditions postmortem. Although considerable secretin can be recovered from mucosal tissue even after extended postmortem delay, these studies demonstrate the importance of low postmortem body temperature and rapid removal and extraction of tissues after opening of the peritoneal cavity to maximize recovery.