Drowning is the death caused by asphyxiation due to fluid blocking the airway. In the practice of forensic medicine, it is the key to determine whether the corpse was drowned or entered the water after death. At the same time, the drowning site inference and postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) play an important role in the investigating the identity of the deceased, narrowing the investigation scope, and solving the case. Based on diatoms testing, molecular biology, imaging and artificial intelligence and other technologies, domestic and foreign forensic scientists have done relative research in the identification of the cause of death, drowning site inference and PMSI, and achieved certain results in forensic medicine application. In order to provide a reference for future study of bodies in the water, this paper summarizes the above research contents.
溺死是指由于液体阻塞呼吸道而发生的窒息性死亡。在法医学实践中，判断水中尸体为溺死还是死后入水，是案件定性的关键。同时，溺死地点推断以及死后淹没时间（postmortem submersion interval，PMSI）在调查死者身份、缩小侦查范围和侦破案件等方面发挥着重要作用。基于硅藻检验、分子生物学、影像学及人工智能等技术，国内外法医工作者们已在死因鉴定、溺死地点推断和PMSI等方面进行了研究，并在法医学应用中取得了一定的成果。现对上述研究内容进行综述，以便更好地为水中尸体相关研究提供参考。.
Keywords: cause of death; drowning; drowning individual in water; drowning site inference; forensic pathology; postmortem submersion interval; review.