Skip to content

Conway Microdiffusion

Definition

A two-chamber glass cell in which an acid in the outer ring liberates HCN from the sample and the gas diffuses into a colour reagent in the inner ring. The classical screen for cyanide in viscera.

Related terms

Anion Gap
Sodium minus the sum of chloride and bicarbonate in serum. A widened anion gap (above 16) in a comatose patient with unexplained...
Carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb)
The compound formed when carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin at the oxygen-binding site, with an affinity 200-250 times greater than oxygen. Produces...
Cherry-Pink Lividity
The bright pink discolouration of dependent tissues seen in CO and cyanide deaths. In CO the colour comes from COHb itself, in...
Headspace GC
Gas chromatography in which the sample (blood, urine, vitreous) is sealed in a vial, equilibrated at a fixed temperature, and a portion...
Saturation Kinetics
Enzyme behaviour at substrate concentrations above the Km, where the rate of metabolism is constant rather than proportional to concentration. Ethanol saturates...

Explained in

Your journey to becoming a forensic professional starts here.

Practice with mock tests, learn from structured notes, and get your questions answered by a global forensic community, all in one place.