NCJ Number
188746
Journal
Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 1-22
Date Published
March 2001
Length
22 pages
Annotation
As part of the process of determining time since death occurred, this paper reviews alterations to the human body that occur after death, as well as the numerous factors that alter the rate and nature of the body's decomposition.
Abstract
Once death occurs, the body undergoes many postmortem alterations. In the early postmortem period, these stages include livor mortis, rigor mortis, algor mortis (body cooling), autolysis, and putrefaction; each of these stages may help the investigator in determining the time since death. In the later postmortem period, human remains pass through the fresh, bloat, active, advanced, and dry remains stages of decay. The timing of these stages is where time since death determinations become problematic; many factors, such as temperature, clothing, humidity, and burial, serve to influence the rate of decay of human remains, making the estimation of postmortem interval a difficult and complex endeavor. The dating methods described in this article are carbon-14; strontium-90; tritium (3H) method; ultraviolet fluorescence, nitrogen content, and luminol reaction; DNA degradation; organic bone constituents; bone microstructure; bone weathering; soil solution; scavenging; associated death scene material; forensic entomology; and plants. The discussion of factors that influence the rate of decomposition of the body focuses on temperature, burial, scavenging, trauma, humidity/aridity, rainfall, size and weight of body, embalming, clothing, and surface beneath the body. 75 references