1. Changes After Death
Dr. Raid Jastania

2. Changes After Death Decomposition Why do we need to know:
Not to misinterpret these changes
Help to determine time (place) of death

3. Early Changes No breathing, no circulation Fall in blood pressure
Metabolism gradually stops
Loss of neoronal activity
No reflexes, no corneal reflex, fixed dilated pupils, eye looses the tension

4. Early Changes Primary Flaccidity: complete loss of tone
Muscle may be still reactive for hours (focal twitching)
Pale skin and conjunctiva
Face may remain blue/red
?? Hair continues to grow
Loss of sphincter action: pass urine, semen, regurgitation of food

5. Rigor Mortis
Lack of oxygen – no energy – no ATP – glycolysis – lactic acid – acidic cytoplasm – actin and myocin bind
“Stiff Muscle”
Factors affects Rigor Mortis:
Level of glycogen
Level of lactic acid
Body built
Temperature, weather

6. Rigor Mortis What is Rigor mortis like if death occurs after exercise,
electric shock,
in infant,
in elderly
In summer
In winter

7. Rigor Mortis
Starts in small muscle around eyes and mouth, jaw, fingers,
Then spreads from head to legs
Estimated time of death:
In face: 1-4 hours
Limbs: 4-6 hours
Increase in strength for the next 6-12 hours
Decomposition starts
Secondary flaccidity from hours

8. Rigor Mortis Body feels warm & Flaccid: <3 hours
Body feels warm & Stiff: 3-8 hours
Body feels cold & stiff: 8-36 hours
Body feels cold & flaccid: > 36 hours

9. Cadaveric Rigidity Forensic rarity
Stiffness of muscle occurring immediately at time of death
Finding items in hands
?emotional/physical stress at death

10. Post Mortem Hypostasis (Lividity)
No circulation, relaxation of blood vessels
Blood moves to dependent area
Positioning of body: supine, prone, on side, on head, hanging
Pink-blue color of the dependent area
May not be apparent in infants, elderly, anemic
Difficult to see in dark skin, jaundice

12. Post Mortem Hypostasis (Lividity)
Blanching:
Around face (not asphyxia)
Color:
Pink – deep pink – blue – purple
Cheery pink: in carbon monoxide poisoning
Dark red: in cyanide poisoning
In hypothermia: pink around large joints
Movement of body and change in lividity!

13. Cooling of the body after Death
Physical property
Assumptions:
Temperature was 37 at the time of death
Thermally static environment

14. Cooling of the body after Death
Variables:
Mass of body
Surface area
Body temperature at death
Site of reading
Posture
Clothing
Environment temperature
Winds, humidity, rain

15. Estimation of the time of Death
Body temperature
Rectal, ears, nose, liver
Henssge’s Nomogram
Ambient temperature
Body weight
Other methods
Gastric contents
Entomologist
Anthropologist

16. Decomposition
Air
Dry, wet
Water

17. Putrefaction The most common route of decomposition
Liquifaction of the soft tissue over time
The warmer the temperature, the earlier the process

18. Putrefaction Visible 3-4 days
Green discoloration in the right iliac fossa
Marbling of skin: linear branching ptterns of brown discoloration of skin
Blistering, skin sloughs off
Gas formation, swelling of body: face, abdomen, breast, genitalia

20. Putrefaction Increase internal pressure, protrusion of tongue, eyes,
Bloody fluids
Within a week: body cavity will burst
Tissue liquify

21. Mummification Dry condition, eg. Dessert Drying and leathery body
Part or whole body

22. Adipocere Wet condition, water
Chemical change of body fat to waxy compound material
Pale, greasy semi fluid material, unpleasant smell
Firm waxy compound material: takes weeks to months to form

23. Skeletalization
More quickly to occur on the surface than in burried body
Soft tissue will be absent by 2 years
Tendon, ligaments, hair nails may remain
By 5 years bone disarticulate

24. Identification Living: coma, amnesia, infancy, mental defect
Decomposed body
Following injury
Mass disasters

25. General Morphologic Features
Appearance
Height, weight
Hair color, length
Beard, moustache
Skin pigmentation
Ethnic background
Eye color
Clothing, jewellery
Tatoo, surgical scars
Injuries, deformities
Age:
Estimation
Ossification center

26. Fingerprint Chance of identical finger print is: 1 in 64 million
Identical twins

27. Teeth
Identification of person
Age
Bite marks

28. Identification of origin of tissue
Why:
Blood, semen, saliva..
Come from suspect for victem
Match of human remains
Resolve paternity/maternity

29. Identification of origin of tissue
DNA profiling:
Matching
Paternity, maternity
Sampling:
Nucleated cells: wbc, hair root bulb cells, sperms, buccal smear..

30. Identification of origin of tissue
Human Remains
Are they human
Is it one or more bodies
Sex: skull, pelvis
Age
Up to years, age can be estimated within couple of years
>25 years more difficult to estimate