preview

Changes In Autopsy

Decent Essays

At the autopsy, samples are taken of body fluids such as blood, urine and the fluid that surrounds the brain. Again, this is principally designed to establish a time of death; claims have been made that changes in the chemical construction of these fluids can be used to measure the time since death, but as the rate of changes depends upon body temperature they have not been established. Moreover, the cause of death (whether natural or unnatural) and physical or emotional stress can effect the rate of change too. There is one bodily fluid that can give an indication of the time of death of a fairly recent victim: the vitreous humour, the jelly-like interior of the eye. After death, the potassium content of this fluid increases steadily over four or five days. The drawback is that no-one

Get Access