ABSTRACT
In the early postmortem interval, myocytes appear paler and more glassy. The nuclei appear to fade away. Contraction band necrosis associated with perimortem ischemia can be seen in patients who died of shock and in those who received cardiac defibrillation. These postmortem changes tend to occur uniformly throughout the myocardium and should not be mistaken for acute myocardial infarction.
