Body water loss
Dullness of the cornea, softening of the eyeball, drying of the skin-parchmentation (parchment plaque finding).
These findings occur earlier than other postmortem changes.
Changes in blood and body fluids
The blood that remains immobile in the cavities of the great vessels and the heart collapses to form a postmortem clot.
Hemolysis: Hemolysis begins approximately 3 hours after death and is completed in an average of 24 hours.
Acidosis: Blood pH drops due to hemolysis, autolysis in organs, and microorganism colonization. However, it rises again in the later stages of putrefaction.
Disintegration (autolysis) of cells and tissues takes place. The fastest autolysis developing organs; adrenals, pancreas and stomach wall.
Although blood glucose increases in the first 12 hours due to glycogen breakdown, blood glucose levels decrease in the following hours.
K, Mg, CO2 blood levels increase, CI decreases.
Transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, phosphatase, amylase enzymes increase during the first 2-3 days, and the increase ends with proteolysis.
Dead chill (Algor mortis)
Shortly after death, the body begins to cool.
While the body surface cools more quickly, the internal organs lose heat more slowly.
Postmortem heat loss is slow for the first few hours, then accelerates, slowing down again as it approaches ambient temperature.
When the corpse and ambient temperature difference is large, cooling is rapid.
Humidity and air circulation in the environment increase cooling.
The corpses of fat and large people lose heat more slowly than thin people.
The cooling rate may vary depending on the environment where the corpse is located, body mass, and cause of death.
Dead spots (Livor mortis)
Dead spots occur due to hypostasis in the postmortem period.
When the permeability of the vessel wall is impaired, the hemolyzed blood goes out of the vessel by passive diffusion after a while and stains the surrounding tissues.
First it starts out as small dots.
The color of smudges is affected by blood volume.
It is seen that the dead spots start on average 3-6 hours after death and reach a maximum in 12 hours.
Although it is usually dark purple in color, it may vary depending on the death situation.
o It is dark pink in freezing deaths and acute cyanide intoxications.
o It is light red in CO intoxications.
o It is dark brown in color in chlorate intoxications.
The darkness of the color depends on the level of reduced hemoglobin in the blood.
Depending on the position of the corpse, the location of the dead spots changes. For example, in a corpse lying on its back, the capillaries in the scapular area and gluteal regions, which are compressed, will not fill and these sections will remain pale.
While the dead spots are pale in massive hemorrhages, the dead spots are darker in cases where blood is pooled in the periphery, such as congestive vessel failure.
When the position of the corpse is changed, the pressure area changes and dead spots may occur in those areas. However, the threshold time for this is 15-20 hours and the location of the dead spots does not change after this time.
Dead stiffness (Rigor mortis)
It is a state of rigidity that develops following primary muscle relaxation after death and is seen in all voluntary and involuntary muscles.
Dead stiffness is caused by the inability of contracted muscles to relax due to lack of ATP.
It develops in 3-6 hours on average, involves the whole body in 10-12 hours and dissolves in approximately 36 hours. However, these times may vary according to the temperature of the environment, the cause of death and the general characteristics of the corpse.
In cases where the ambient temperature is high, dead solidity develops rapidly and dissolution occurs rapidly.
Since the depot ATP will decrease in deaths following intense muscle activity, dead stiffness occurs quickly and lasts for a short time.
Dead stiffness begins earlier in small muscle groups.
Cadaveric Spasm:
Active muscular relaxation does not occur during death, and the muscle remains in the form of contraction at the time of death.
Hot Rigor:
It occurs due to the coagulation of muscle proteins when the corpse is exposed to high heat. Dead stiffness can occur even after it has dissolved.
Putrefaction (stinking / rotting)
After the disintegration of tissues due to intracellular autolysis, putrefaction occurs primarily due to the activities of anaerobic bacteria with saprophytic spores in the body.
It occurs earlier in the brain, stomach, liver and intestinal organs; It occurs later in organs such as the heart, lung, kidney, bladder and uterus.
Excess air temperature and humidity, air inactivity accelerates decay.
Onset more quickly in overweight people.
In cases of septicemia or bacteremia, putrefaction begins more quickly.
Children stink more quickly than adults.
Since the intestinal flora is not developed in newborns, putrefaction develops more slowly.
Onset more quickly in children and the elderly than in adults.
In case of dehydration, putrefaction is delayed.
It starts more quickly in the presence of edema in the tissues.
Putrefaction is examined in 4 stages.
Stage 1: It covers the period from discoloration due to the dissolution of the dead solidity and putrefaction to the bursting of the abdomen.
Stage 2: It begins with the explosion of the abdomen. At this stage, the gender of the corpse is distinguishable from the outside.
Stage 3: The liver has become indistinguishable and the muscles have started to separate.
Stage 4: It is the period when gender cannot be distinguished from the outside. The skeleton is visible. At this stage, the uterus is the only distinguishable organ.
Saponification
It is a locally developed change that occurs in corpses buried in moist environments or left in liquid environments.
It usually develops in areas where subcutaneous adipose tissue is rich.
Mumification
Mumification is the dehydration and drying of tissues and organs after death.
It occurs on corpses in dry and high-temperature areas.
Dehydration before death facilitates the development of mummification.
It takes months to complete.
Maceration (brine)
It is aseptic fermentative autolysis seen in the fetus that remains in the amniotic sac for at least a few days.
It is the definitive diagnostic criterion of intrauterine death.
The appearance changes according to the length of stay in the amniotic fluid.
According to the Langley criteria, it is examined in 4 stages:
• Stage 1: There is a scalded skin appearance (intrauterine death occurred before 6-8 hours).
• Stage 2: The skin has begun to peel off (more than 6-8 hours).
• 3rd Stage: The skin is severely peeled, red-colored effusion has accumulated in the serous cavities (more than 24 hours).
• Stage 4: Fetus has a dirty brown appearance, internal organs are muddy. Muscles become very soft, joints loosen, internal organs become fluctuating sacs (more than 2-3 days).
