Biochemical study of lipids in adrenals altered by putrefaction (the forensic medical diagnosis of stress)

Biochemical method of lipid extraction with hexane permits the diagnosis of functional exhaustion of adrenals resultant from prolonged stress using both fresh material and that changed by putrefaction when histologic and histochemical methods of investigation are useless. These data may be used in examinations of putrescent corpses to assess thanatogenesis and establish the cause of death.