Forensic Pathology: Death Analysis
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Roman MamunForensic Pathology: Death Analysis
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Roman MamunFORENSIC
PATHOLOGY
IZABELA DEMBOWSKA-CZUBATY
INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC SCIENCES
DEATH
CAUSE OF DEATH
1) NATURAL – no disease, no injury, recently quite
uncommon
2) DISEASE – out of the interest of forensic medicine
and prosecution
3) INJURY – remains in the scope of interest of
prosecution (homicidal, accidental and suicidal)
TIME OF DEATH
1) SUDDEN – no agony, usually injuries
2) SLOW – with agony, usually diseases, rarely injuries
DEATH
MANNER OF DEATH
1) ACCIDENTAL
2) SUICIDAL
3) HOMICIDAL
4) NATURAL
DEATH
STAGES OF DEATH
1) FALSE DEATH (vita minima) – a person is still alive
but living functions remain on a very low level
2) CLINICAL DEATH – a person can be still brought to
life (no heart beat, no breathing)
3) BRAIN DEATH – allows for the announcement that
the person died
4) INTERLETHAL STAGE – brain is damaged but some
functions of body can be observed (growth of hair
and nails)
5) BIOLOGICAL DEATH – inevitable damage to cells
DEATH
CONDITIONS OF DEATH
1) RIGOR MORTIS
2) LIVOR MORTIS
3) ALGOR MORTIS
4) PALLOR MORTIS –
discoloration (white) of skin
DEATH
RIGOR MORTIS
The muscles of the body initially become flaccid after
death. Within 1–3 hours following death, the
muscles begin to become noticeably increasingly
rigid and the joints immobile (freeze) due to a
process known as rigor mortis (postmortem rigidity,
rigor).
When a body stiffens, it remains in that position until
rigor passes or it is physically overcome (broken),
such as when a joint is forcibly moved. Since the
chemical process of rigor is irreversible, fully
developed rigor will not recur in an area in which
it has been broken or in an area in which it has
already passed.
DEATH
LIVOR MORTIS
Livor mortis (postmortem hypostasis, lividity) is the
discoloration of the body after death due to the
gravitational settling of blood which is no longer
being pumped through the body by the heart.
Livor mortis is usually noticeable approximately 1 hour
after death and is often apparent earlier, within 20–
30 minutes. The discoloration increases in intensity
and usually becomes “fixed” in about 8–10 hours.
The formation of livor may be hindered or prevented
by pressure applied to the body’s surface because
the small blood vessels become compressed and
blood is prevented from settling into them.
DEATH
ALGOR MORTIS (body cooling)
After death, the body equilibrates with the
surrounding environmental temperature. Although
this usually involves algor mortis (cooling of the
body), in some cases, such as a body laying on a
sidewalk in direct sunlight, the body may absorb
heat.
However, in most cases, the body will progressively
lose temperature until it equilibrates with its
environment. Many studies have examined this
progressive decrease in body temperature to
attempt to develop formulae which could be used
to calculate the postmortem interval.
DEATH
DRYING
• drying
• autolysis – damage of the cell
structures
• rotting (green discoloration)
• adipocere
• mummification
• decomposition in peat bogs
ROTTING
The environment is a major determinant of the type of
decomposition the body undergoes and the rate at
which it proceeds. Bodies that are buried in earth,
submerged in water, left in the hot sun or placed in
a cool basement will not look the same after the
same postmortem interval.
In general, as rigor passes, green discoloration of the
skin becomes evident. The green discoloration
typically begins on the abdomen and then spreads
to the rest of the body. At room temperature, the
right lower abdomen turns green at about 24 hours
after death and the entire abdomen is green by 36
hours. As with other postmortem changes, the onset
and progression of the green discoloration is quite
variable.
ADIPOCERE
Adipocere is a term derived from Latin which literally
means “fat” (adipo) “wax” (cera). It refers to a hard
gray-white waxy substance formed during
decomposition. It is an uncommon change,
occurring particularly in bodies buried for an
extended period of time in cool, moist environments
and is most commonly seen after bodies have been
submerged in water during the winter months. Not
all bodies having adipocere are found in water. For
example, bodies found in plastic bags which
provide a moist environment may also undergo this
change.
MUMMIFICATION
Mummification occurs in hot dry environments where
the body is able to dehydrate and bacterial
proliferation is minimal. The skin becomes dark, dry
and leathery. The internal organs desiccate and
shrink. Most mummification occurs in the summer
months but may also occur during the winter if the
temperature is warm enough. An entire body can
mummify in a few days to weeks. As the skin dries
and hardens, the soft tissues decompose. After a
few weeks, an entire body may appear preserved
with some shrinkage due to dehydration.
DEATH
DETERMINATION OF DEATH
1) conditions of death
2) interlethal signs
3) gastric contents
4) bleeding level
EXAMINATION OF BODY
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION OF BODY
– at the crime scene
INTERNAL EXAMINATION OF BODY
– autopsy
EXTERNAL BODY EXAMINATION
• order of events
• people involved in examination
• a scope of activities that may be
conducted
• preservation of evidence at the crime
scene
INTERNAL BODY EXAMINATION
TYPES OF AUTOPSY (legal reasons)
1) scientific
2) forensic
TYPES OF AUTOPSY (time)
1) before body is burried
2) after exhumation
TYPES OF AUTOPSY (purpose)
1) determination of the cause and manner of death
2) grafting of internal organs
INTERNAL BODY EXAMINATION
AUTOPSY PURPOSES
1) determination of the cause and manner of
death
2) determination of the time of death
3) determination of injuries
4) determination of tools that may have caused
injuries
5) determination of the circumstances of death
THANK YOU
Materials prepared basing on: Jay Dix, Michael Graham, Time of Death, Decomposition
and Identification. An Atlas, CRC Press 2000.
