Some reading material for the forensically challenged amoung us
"Several factors affect the decay of the body, which occurs in four stages: fresh, bloating, decaying, and dry (skeletal). A rule of thumb holds that "one week in air equals two weeks in water equals eight weeks buried in the ground." If the body is exposed to heat or the deceased had a fever, decomposition will progress more rapidly. Warm temperatures also hasten autolysis, the destruction of tissues by the body's natural enzymes. A body exposed in the winter will decay more quickly from within, and the skin is more likely to stain, mold, and discolor because it does not slough off as quickly. Clothing or shrouds speed up decay of the body. Thin people and those who died suddenly and in good health decompose more slowly than others. Deep burial also retards decomposition. Bodies that have been buried three to four feet deep may take many years to skeletonize. Corpses that have been embalmed may decay more slowly over the first six months, depending on the amount of body fat. Embalming may also retard larval activity and disintegration, as a group of researchers found. - The Corpse: A History, Christine Quigley
RIGOR MORTIS
PUTREFACTION
Putrefaction is a slow decomposition of the body. It is a chemical and bacterial change. It starts at death and continues until all soft tissue of the body is consumed. Temperature is important to the speed with which it happens. Heat speeds bacterial growth and action, while cold slows it. One of the first signs of putrefaction is a greenish staining in the lower abdomen. The change slowly spreads and takes on a brownish look. Sometimes the skin gets so dark, it may be hard to determine race. The condition called marbling comes from bacterial action on blood in the veins. They become dark red or purple and stand out lightly on the skin. And as bacteria acts on inner organs, gases form. They bloat the body, and facial features become vague. Putrefaction goes on until the body is consumed, unless adipocere or mummification begins.
ADIPOCERE Adipocere is a yellowish-white substance composed of fatty acids and soaps developed in post mortem changes of the fatty parts of the body like cheeks, abdomen wall, and buttocks. The chemical process is induced by enzymes and water in moist anaerobic conditions in which bacteria need no oxygen to survive. Adipocere has a greasy feel and a strong and musty odor. Although adipocere may cover wounds, the wounds can be seen in a close examination even when the process has advanced.
MUMMIFICATION
Mummification occurs when body tissue dehydrates. The skin takes on a leathery look. The process only occurs in hot, dry climates, free from the moisture needed by bacteria. Mummification is more likely to occur in infancy than at later ages. The bodies of infants who die soon afterbirth are sterile. They do not have internal bacteria. Thus bacterial action is slowed because all bacteria must enter the body from outside. And, because of their size, the drying process can be completed faster in infants than in adults.
CONSUMPTION BY INSECTS AND ANIMALS
Insects and animals may begin to consume a body soon after death. Flies, maggots, and beetles attack open areas of the body. They gather on soft body tissues. Sometimes an entomologist's study of insect larvae on a body can help estimate time of death. Cats and dogs locked in a room with a body eventually will eat a human body. A body buried in a shallow grave often is dug up by animals for food. It is not unusual for bodies left in woods to have their parts scattered over a large area by animals. -Forensic Pathology Ed Uthman, MD