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Postmortem redistribution is a forensic toxicology phenomenon where a substance's concentration changes after death, making it difficult to determine the exact concentration at the time of death. While femoral blood is often considered the most reliable blood sample for postmortem toxicology, as it's a peripheral sample and less prone to postmortem redistribution than central heart blood, it is not completely immune to this phenomenon. The degree to which a substance redistributes into femoral blood depends on several factors, including the drug's properties (like lipophilicity and volume of distribution), the time since death, and the presence of reservoirs like the thigh muscle. While it's a valuable sample, particularly when compared to cardiac blood, it is still susceptible to postmortem concentration changes, especially for certain drugs.

The vitreous humor, a jelly-like substance in the eye, is considered the most reliable specimen because it is metabolically isolated and protected, meaning it is least susceptible to this phenomenon. Therefore, analysis of the vitreous humor provides the most accurate reflection of the substance's concentration at the time of death, making it the preferred sample for postmortem analysis of substances like alcohol or certain drugs.
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