Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
These changes can generally be divided between early post-mortem changes and late post-mortem changes (also known as decomposition). [12] These changes occur along a continuum and can be helpful in determining the post-mortem interval, which is the time between death and examination. The stages that follow shortly after death are:
An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, [Note 1] or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death; or the exam may be performed to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present for research or educational purposes.
A fresh pig carcass. At this stage the remains are usually intact and free of insects. The corpse progresses through algor mortis (a reduction in body temperature until ambient temperature is reached), rigor mortis (the temporary stiffening of the limbs due to chemical changes in the muscles), and livor mortis (pooling of the blood on the side of the body that is closest to the ground).
Health departments discourage listing "old age" as the cause of death because doing so does not benefit public health or medical research. [5] Aging is not a scientifically recognized cause of death; it is currently considered that there is always a more direct cause (although it may be unknown in certain cases and could be one of a number of ...
Livor mortis (from Latin līvor 'bluish color, bruise' and mortis 'of death'), postmortem lividity (from Latin post mortem 'after death' and lividitas 'black and blueness'), hypostasis (from Greek ὑπό (hypo) 'under, beneath' and στάσις (stasis) 'a standing') [1] [2] or suggillation, is the second stage of death and one of the signs of ...
Decomposition in animals is a process that begins immediately after death and involves the destruction of soft tissue, leaving behind skeletonized remains. The chemical process of decomposition is complex and involves the breakdown of soft tissue, as the body passes through the sequential stages of decomposition. [2]
Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions.
Timeline of postmortem changes (stages of death), with putrefaction labeled near middle. The rough timeline of events during the putrefaction stage is as follows: 1–2 days: Pallor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis, and livor mortis are the first steps in the process of decomposition before the process of putrefaction.