MEDICOLEGAL ASPECTS OF DEATH

INVESTIGATION
INTRODUCTION:

MEDICOLEGAL STUDY OF DEATH FALLS WITHIN THE

UNIT OF FORENSIC THANATOLOGY.

THANATOS=DEATH

LOGOS = SCIENCE
DEATH OCCURS IN 2 STAGES-
1 SOMATIC/SYSTEMIC/CLINICAL DEATH:
 Commonly employed death means somatic death.
 It is due to complete and irreversible cessation of vital functions of brain
followed by that of heart and lungs.
o Cardiovascular as coma.
o Nervous as syncope.
o Respiratory as asphyxia.
COMA-death from failure of the function of brain and irreversible damage to
its vital centres due to.'
 Raised intra-cranial
 Pressure.
 Poisons(opoids and alcohols).
 Metabolic disorders.

SYNCOPE-death from failure of function of heart resulting in hypoperfusion

and hypoxia of brain due to!
Heart disease.
Haemorrhage.
Pathological states of blood -exhausting
diseases.
 Poisonong due to
Digitalis,potassium,oleander or aconite.
A syncope death may result from reflex-cardiac arrest due to!
-vagal stimulation commonly known as vaso-
vagal shock,vagal inhibition or neurogenic shock.
-rarely ventricular
FIBRILLATION.

VAGAL INHIBITION IS IMPORTANT IN CASES OF:

-accidental hanging.
-throttling.
-blow to epigastrium.
-abortion.
-emotional tension.
-sudden immersion of body in water.
-insertion of an instrument into
uterus,bladder,rectum or any other body
cavity.
-like anaesthesia.

ASPHYXIA-death from failure of respiratory function.it occurs in conditions

of respiratory function such as:
-pnuemonia.
-paralysis of resoiratory
CENTRE(OPIOD POISONING).
-occlusion of air passage.
-breathing of irrespirable gases.
-traumatic asphyxia.
2.MOLECULAR DEATH-
Also called as "cellular death".
Early signs of molecular death are-
COOLING OF BODY-
Also known as algor mortis.
Algor = coldness. Mortis= of death.
After death heat production stops and body losses heat by
conduction,convection and radiation.
Progressive fall in temperature is one of the most prominent early
signs of death,the amount of cooling indicating the approximate time elapsed
since death.
The temperature of dead body is recorded by
thermometer(thanatometer),25 cms long,inserted about 8-1 0 cms in rectum
ensuring that there is no local injury or homosexual activity and swabs are taken
before insertion.
In cases of homosexual activity,thermocouple probe is inserted deep
into nostril or auditory meatus.
Records are made at intervals to determine the rate of fall of
temperature.
REGIONAL-
In a tropical country like india ,the average heat lost is
roughly 0.5-0.7 degree celsius per hour and body attains environmental
temperature in 1 6-20 hours after death.
ROUGH ESTIMATE NORMAL BODY _ ABOUT TIME
IN = TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE
HOUR SINCE DEATH. --------------------------------------------------
RATE IN FALL IN
TEMPERATURE PER HOUR.
RATE OF COOLING OF BODY,AFFECTED BY FACTORS!
AGE AND CONDITION OF BODY:
-childrens and adults of small stature rapidly owing to their
large body surface as compared to weight.
-lean bodies cool rapidly and fat slowly.
-women cool less rapidly than men.

MODE OF death.'
-in case of sudden death,body cools slowly.
-after long,wasting illness body cools rapidly.
-bodies are warm longer after deaths from
asphyxia,lightning,co poisoning.
surroundings:
-movement of atmospheric air accelerates
cooling by convection.
therefore a body lying in well-ventilated rooms
cools more rapidly.
-a body cools more quickly in water, -coolig is delayed if atmospheric or
water temperature is high.
-a body covered with clothes cools
SLOWLY.
• environmental temperature:
-body cools rapidly when difference between body
temperature and environmental temperature is high.

CHANGES IN EYE:
-clear glistening appearance of cornea is lost.
-intra-occular tension falls.
-pupils get dilated.
 - traches novies(areas of brownish-black
discolouration)appear on sclera within three hours of death.

CHANGES IN SKIN :
skin assumes a pale , astry white appearance. it loses its elasticity . the lips tend
to darken due to drying.

POSTMORTEM LIVIDITY :

definition: means discoloration of the skin and organs after death due to
accumulation of fluid blood in toneless capillaries and small veins of the
dependent parts of the body.

FORMATION :
process commences within an hour after death.
in cases of sudden death, it present itself first as a series of mottled patches on
the dependent parts within about 1-3 hours.
patches gradually increases in size and coalesce in about 3-6 hrs.
lividity fully developed and fixed. become unchangeable in about 6-8 hours.

test for lividity : if presume of thumb blonchy the area , the lividity is not fixed
and the time since death is < than 8 hours.
it pressure of thumb does not blanch the area the lividity is fixed and the time
since death is more than 6 hours.

sites and distribution :

in hanging – dependent parts on lower limb, external genitalia and lower parts
of facorm and hands.
in drowing- lividity observed in head and upper parts of body.

color and intensity :

lividity depend on color of blood and mode of death.
staining is at first bluish – pink and afterwords bluish-purple.

changes in muscle :
A. primary relaxation
B. rigor mortis.
C. secondary relaxation

a. primary relaxation :
relaxation of general muscular tone
lower jaws droops, pupils, dilate
muscles become soft and flabby
joints are flexible

b. rigor mortis :
definition : condition characterized by stiffening and shortening of muscle
which follow the period of primary relaxation.
all muscles of body , voluntary and involuntary are affected by rigor.
if first appears in involuntary and then in voluntary muscles.
it is tested by
1. attempting to lift the eye lids.
2. depressing the jaw
3. gently bending the neck and various joints of the body.

in the involuntary muscles, rigor mortis appears in heart within an hour after
death.
in voluntary muscles, the sequence is as follows,

1. eye : 3-4 hr
2. face : 4-5 hr
3. neck : 5-7 hrs
4. trunk : 5-7 hrs
5. upper extremity : 7-9 hrs
6. legs : 9-11 hrs
7. fingers : 11-12 hrs

medicolegal importance :
it is sign of death
it helps to estimate time since death
give information about position of body at time of death.

conditional stimulating rigor mortis

freezing or cold stiffning
heat coagulation or heat stiffening
putrejaction
cadveric spasm

secondary relaxation :
the muscles become soft and flaccid once again but do not respond to
mechanical or electrical stimuli.