Fingerprints of the Dead. (Warning, graphic content)
Fingerprinting is one of several potential important components of a forensic autopsy routine. In the unfortunate event of a mass disaster, and in many cases of drowning and homicide, the dead bodies of the victims are beyond recognition. Sometimes animal scavengers and decomposition may alter a body’s condition to an extent that visual identification becomes impossible. Under these conditions, post-mortem fingerprinting becomes necessary. There are a few methods that forensics use to obtain a decedent’s fingerprint. The state of decomposition and circumstances surrounding the decedent’s death is what determines the method forensic pathologists will use to obtain the prints. post-mortem fingerprinting is a lot more cumbersome than fingerprinting the living due to post-mortem changes such as deterioration, dehydration and rigor mortis. The friction ridge details of a dead body are less clear compared to those of a living person. The post-mortem fingerprinting is carried out after the pathological examination of the decedent is over, so the scrapings from the fingernails don’t become contaminated with the ink or powder. Cases in which the skin of a corpse has started decaying are the most difficult ones to get fingerprints from. In these cases, usually only a small part of the ridge pattern persists. The skin of the fingertips is peeled off and placed in a solution of formaldehyde then the skin fragment of each finger is placed in a separate container. The formaldehyde not only holds back further decomposition of the skin fragment, but also hardens it, so the fingerprint recording becomes easier. The person authorised to take the fingerprints wears latex gloves and places skin pieces on his own fingers. as shown in the photos below, The rolled impressions are then recorded using fingerprint pad method.
Things you'll find in a funeral home prep room.
Mouth Formers
This is used as a denture replacement on the deceased when they are lacking teeth or have ill filtered dentures. It is placed in front of the gum-line, the lips are then placed over it to give the impression of a full set of teeth. They come in different forms and colours and can be cut to fit the shape of the deceased’s mouth to give them a natural expression. The ridges grip onto the inside of the mouth to hold it in place.
Plastic Undergarments.
These are used to prevent the deceased from leaking into the casket during a viewing. They are used when there’s been some kind of trauma to the body due to organ donations, injuries from an accident, burns, or skin slippages from decomposition, or in some cases Edema, (swelling that occurs when too much fluid becomes trapped in the tissues of the body)
There are quite a few different items of plastic undergarments that are used on different part of the body depending on the the condition of the deceased.
Here’s just a few.
The Coverall, they look like a large pair of shorts that cover your whole torso and chest area and they are used for abdominal and lower leakage.
The Capri, which is like a pair of high waisted trousers but with no feet holes so any leakage from the waist down, collects into the foot area.
The Unionall, A full body covering, looks like a work overall. These are used if the body has a lot of decomposition or has been burned or has had most of their organs donated, including the skin.
The plastic pants, They look like a pair of shorts and are used for lower area leakage.
The sleeves which are used to catch leakage from IV wounds cuts and skin slippage.
Eye Caps
These are used to form natural looking closed eyes for a viewing. They go under the eyelid and on top of the eyeball. The eyelids grip onto the ridges of the eye cap to help hold it closed. These are also used if the eye’s are absent due to donation.
Glue.
This is for bonding eye lids, lips, incisions, lacerations, abrasions, and punctures.
Anal/vaginal plugs
These are used to stop anal and vaginal leakage. Not every embalmer use AV plugs. Some embalmers just use cotton wool.
Deodorant power,
Destroys obnoxious odours from external areas of the deceased.
It also has an antibacterial effect and kills any larvae and fungi.
It treats odours from bed sores, cancer, gangrene, wounds, drowned bodies and so on…
Calvarium Clamps.
During an autopsy the medical examiner will usually take off the Calvarium which is the top part of the skull so they can examine the brain and the surrounding areas. The skin is then pulled back over the calvarium once the examination is complete. The diseased is then handed over to the funeral home. The Calvarium often gets knocked out of place because the body has been moved around. This can make the top of the head to be slightly askew or the forehead might have a bump under the skin where the Calvarium has misaligned with the rest of the skull and protrudes out. Calvarium Clamps are screwed to the base of the skull and the Calvarium to align and lock the two together. The Clamps are usually screwed one on each side of the skull. Sometimes more are used if needed. Some embalmers will just use polly grip or drill holes in the skull and suture it together.
Trocar Buttons
These are used to plug up holes the from cavity embalming, Iv holes and small injuries such as broken bones that have pieced through the skin or injuries from glass fragment and debris. They are only used for superficial holes that don’t need to be sutured. Suturing small holes and injuries will create more hole that could leak fluid.
Aneurysm Hook
Used for separating and elevating arteries for injection and drainage. The hook slips under the arteries, to raise them out of the body slightly, then an incision in the artery is made ready for drainage and embalming needles .
Dead People
…. duh!
Stages of Human Decomposition.
⚠️WARNING, GRAPHIC IMAGES AND DISTURBING TEXT ⚠️
“Somebody will fine your dead body, or your dead body will never be found, ether way there’s no escaping death”
Stage 1 Dying and Death
image, Pintrest.com
The dying process usually begins a few weeks or even as early as 3 Months before death occurs. Certain changes take place, psychologically, behaviourally and physically as a person nears the end of their life.
Here are the most common signs of impending death.
A dying person will begin to Sleep excessively and for long periods of time. The mildest physical exertion for somebody approaching death can be exhausting and nearer the end they will increasingly drift in and out of consciousness.
Skin and stature changes.
The skin can become paper thin and very pale, especially in the elderly. Liver spots may appear on their hands and face and their hair will become thin.
They may also shrink in stature.
They may emit a pungent sickly oder. In some cases they will emit an acetone type oder. This is caused by their system shutting down and their metabolism changing
Their Behavioural changes,
They may begin to withdraw from their surroundings and decline visits from neighbours, friends and family members. When they do accept visitors, they may not be very vocal.
They lose their Appetite completely. This usually happens a few weeks before death. As the body begins to slow down, it no longer needs fuel to keep it going so the dying will often lose their desire to eat or drink and can begin to lose weight very rapidly.
They may suffer from confusion and start speaking irrational or nonsensical
A couple of days or a few hours before death, they may get a surge of energy as if the person is getting better, but this is usually a sign that they are moving closer towards death, rather than away from it.
The body temperature lowers by a degree or more and the blood pressure lowers and their pulse becomes irregular, and may slow down or speed up. There is increased perspiration and lips and nail beds become pale and bluish.
Their breathing becomes more rapidly.
The hands and feet become blotchy and purplish (mottled). This mottling will work its way up their arms and legs. Their lips may start to droop. They usually becomes unresponsive by this point and may have their eyes open slightly but not seeing their surroundings.
It is widely believed that the hearing is the last sense to go.
The heart stops beating then they start to convulse taking in shorter breaths, their ears start to get cold because of lack of circulation.and their blood turns acidic.
They lose their cough reflex causing a build of mucous. Due to spasms this will cause a gurgling or rattling sound. This sound is known as the “death rattle.” the lungs shut down and finally the brain stops functioning. Although the Brain stem may still be alive.
Recent studies show that our brains continue to "work" for 10 minutes, maybe longer, meaning that our brains, may be aware of our death. However, the research is only preliminary.
There are a few requirements doctors use if a person dies in a hospital setting to define death.
The absence of a pulse, the absence of breathing, the absence of reflexes, and the absence of pupillary constriction in response to a bright light.
Stage 2. Pallor Mortis and Algor Mortis.
image. pintrest.com
At the moment of death, every muscle in the body relaxes, this is a state called “primary flaccidity”.
The eyelids lose their tension and the pupils dilate. In some cases the jaw might fall open, as the cadavers joints and limbs are still flexible. The skin will sag due to the loss of tension in the muscles, which can cause joints and bones in the body, such as the jaw or hips to become prominent and pronounced.
Within minutes of the heart stopping, a process called “pallor mortis” causes the person to grow pale as blood drains from the smaller veins in the skin.
The body also begins to cool from its normal temperature of 37° Celsius until reaching the ambient temperature around it. This is known as algor mortis or the "death chill”.
Stage 3. Livor Mortis.
image.tumblr.
2-4 Hours After Death. Blood starts pooling in the body as gravity pulls the blood to the areas of the cadaver closest to the ground, causing discolouration. This starts to happen 20 to 30 minutes after death but doesn’t become visible until a few hours thereafter. This is called “liver mortis” which appears as a reddish- purplish -blue colour on the skin. Embalmers sometimes refer to this as the postmortem stain.
At this point the bowels and bladder begin to empty due to your mussels being relaxed. Also the brain cells then die and begin to liquefy. Due potassium in the red blood cells breaking down, the pupils of the eyes begin to dilate, and cloud over.
The eyeballs then start to flatten due to loss of blood pressure, indicating brain stem death.
Stage 4, Rigor Mortis.
image jmsjurnal.net
Rigor Mortis is the stiffening of muscles due to a range of chemical change in the muscle structure. Muscle fibers rely on the conversion of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to ADP (adenosine diphosphate) After death. When respiration ceases, the intracellular pH decreases due to the production of lactic and pyruvic acid.
The anaerobic glycolysis of glycogen in the muscles causes glycogen depletion and reducing the ATP concentrations. Also calcium leaks into the sarcomere, where the protein filaments of actin and myosin are present in an alternating arrangement, calcium then binds allowing for a cross-linkage to occur between the filaments. This causes a pulling motion along the length of the muscle causing it to become shorter and more rigid. In a living person, ATP would be used to disconnect the cross-linking in the fibers and as a result the rigidity associated with the change would be reversed, whereas it becomes fixed in the event of death. This can occur as soon as 4 hours after death.
The first muscles to be affected first will be the eyelids, jaw, and neck, then over the next several hours, rigour mortis will spread into the face and down through the chest, abdomen, arm and legs until it reaches the fingers and toes.
Stage 5, Secondary Flaccidity.
image. confessions of a funeral director.
12 hours after death when the cadaver as reached a state of maximum rigor mortis, the muscles will start to loosen due to continued chemical changes within the cells and the decay of the internal organs. This is known as secondary flaccidity and occurs over a period of one to three days depending on the influence of external conditions such as temperature.
The colder, the slower a cadaver decays. During this process, the skin will begin to shrink, This will create the illusion that hair and nails are growing. Rigor mortis will then dissipate in the opposite direction from the fingers and toes to the face, over a period of up to 48 hours. Once this is complete, the muscles of the body will once again be relaxed.
Stage 6, Bloating.
Bacteria, located in the intestines feeds off of dead tissue and give off gases that accumulate in the intestines. They become trapped due to the earlier collapse of the small intestine. These gases cause the abdomen to swell. This is when a cadaver starts to stink due to putrefaction. Putrefaction is where the larger structures of the body breaks down, and the tissues liquefy. The digestive organs, brain, and lungs are the first to go. Under normal conditions, the organs are unidentifiable after three weeks. The tongue will protrude out of your mouth due to swelling of tissues in the neck and face. The swelling of the neck and facial tissues makes the cadaver harder to identify if it is found at this stage. The formation of gases also causes any remaining waste in the body to be forced out. The colour of the body changes from red to green as the red blood cells decompose. This usually happens around the second week of decomposition depending on the surroundings and elements. A body that has been left in water or room temperature can putrefy at a much faster rate than one left in cool conditions.
Stage 7 Skin slippage,
image. pintrest.
Skin slippage happens around the same time as bloating and it’s when the skin becomes glove-like and can easily slip away from decaying muscle and connective tissue. This is due to a releases of enzymes which in conjunction with bacteria, destroy the skin and cause the layers to separate from each other. Skin slippage can make it difficult to move a body if discovered in this condition. The hairs, nails, and teeth also begin to detach. By this stage, dental records may be the only way to identify the body.
Stage 8, Butyric Fermentation and Mummification.
image, crimemeg.com
When the wet stages of decomposition ends the cadaver begins to dry out and becomes a mummified husk. They are considered to be mummified when all of your organs are gone due to the feeding insects.
Stage 9 Waxing.
image Atlas obscura
As the process of mummification is finishing, the body’s fat begins to breakdown and it turns into a crumbly white waxy substance called adipocere. This is known as “grave wax.” It’s this stage where the putrid odour of the decaying flesh starts to deplete exponentially. It is said that in the 17th century, some individuals were known to use this adipocere to make candles to use at the mummy’s vigil. The grave wax can also be important if the body is found at this stage because the adipocere can help retain body and facial features used in recognition, as well as any wounds or injuries that may have caused the death.
Stage 10, Skeletonisation.
image sciencing.com
During this time span and depending on environmental circumstances, and what type of animals have been snacking on you, your corpse is now reduced bones and other hard fragments. Although at least you can still be identified by your dental records ;)
Tibetan sky burials.
Sky burial, which is also known by the name of ‘Celestial burial is associated with the Tibetan culture, although it does exist in other civilisations and has done throughout history It might sound gruesome to people living in our current society but its values and philosophy are stunningly beautiful and virtuous. The Tibetans believe that there is a great honour in knowing that the body will go back to nature, and nourish some of nature’s creatures, In this case bearded vultures. A sky burial is the act of leaving a corpse, hacked into pieces by a burial master and exposed to the elements of nature. The burial master also smashes and grinds down the bones of the cadaver ,then leaving the corpse out in their selected open site. This was their way of offering a final honourable service to their material body; sending it back to the earth, and serving as an offering of a nutritional meal to the vultures.
Basic Autopsy walkthrough.
Each autopsy is different, depending on the circumstances and the condition of the cadavers. This is just a a quick step by step look at the basics. We hope you enjoy.
First you need a dead body!
Step 1- External Examination
The body’s identity is confirmed and assigned an identification number, which is written on a toe tag along with their pertinent information. The tag is then tied to the big toe of the corpse.
Every inch of the body is photographed from head to toe. It is photographed in cloths it was wearing when it arrived at the morgue and then the body is undressed and photographed
completely naked.
The body is then weighed on a scale and is also measured for length and then completely X-rayed.
The corpse’s finger prints are taken.
The clothing the deceased was wearing are carefully examined.
Fiber samples from the cloths are taken for later study, any stains on the cloths are noted and examined.
All moles, wounds, tattoos, scars (If any) and other physical anomalies are noted and examined. The cadaver’s fingernails, toenails, skin, and hair are examined and the skin on the arms and legs is carefully checked for syringe marks.
During a medical autopsy of a female, a examination of the external genitalia including pubic hair is performed to determine whether or not there was a rape or sexual assault committed prior to (and/or after) her death.
Step 2 - Toxicology Tests.
Body fluids are withdrawn from the cadaver. These include blood and urine, etc, these fluids are sent off for toxicology testing. These tests determined whether or or not poisons, medications or illegal substances are present in the blood or/and urine. They also look for other abnormalities.
Step 3 The first Incision.
The most common Incision is the “Y” incision. Although there are various types of incisions that medical examiners uses (depending on the case and the circumstances)- we will be concentrating on the Y incision. The examiner makes a huge, full body-length incision that opens up the front of the body. On a male cadaver the incision starts at each shoulder and proceeds on an angle down to the mid-chest, and then joins into a straight line that runs all the way down to the pubis. On a female cadaver the two arms of the Y is cut to curve around and the breasts. This is the most dramatic step of the autopsy, and a lot of people who have never seen an autopsy performed before, are shocked by the dramatic way the body is spread wide open by this incision. During medical surgical procedures the incisions are neat, and relatively clean. An autopsy incision does not need be neat. Also there isn’t the worry of excessive bleeding.
Step 4 Cracking the ribs.
The examiner snaps each individual rib with rib cutters and then cuts through the pleural membrane. The whole rip cage removed to access the organs underneath.
Step 5 removal of the organs.
the organs of the upper abdominal cavity-the lungs, heart, oesophagus and the trachea are removed. The examiner then takes out the lower abdominal organs, the liver, spleen, kidneys, adrenals, stomach, and intestines. some of organs will be weighed. In cases of drowning or a suspected poisoning or drug overdose, the contents of the stomach are removed, examined, and analysed. A Slices of each organ are taken and tested.
Step 6 The internal genitalia exam.
Both male and female genitalia are internally examined. In the case of the female, they are checked for signs of pregnancy, rape and signs of other sexual abuse.
Then the organs of the pelvic region, including the bladder, the uterus, and the ovaries, are removed. Samples of each organ are taken and analysed.
Step 7 Brain exam.
A deep incision is made in the skin of the scalp. This incision is called intermastiod and begins behind one ear, runs over the top of the head, and ends behind the opposite ear. The scalp is then pulled forward over the face, baring the skull. Using an electric bone saw, a large wedge of the skull is cut out and removed, exposing the brain. The whole brain is then removed, weighed, and examined.
Step 8 finishing up.
When the examination is finished, the pathologist will returns all of the removed internal organs to the body cavities. They don’t have to be neat, The body is then sown up (or not, depending on the examiner) The Autopsy findings are turned over to legal authorities to be used as evidence in a court of law if necessary. And finally a determination is made as to the cause of death, and the death certificate is filled out……
….Then the body is sent to the wood chipper….Just kidding ;)
Aftermath!
A collection of Human decomposition stains and crime scene goo. (Warning, disturbing content)
Either somebody will watch you die, Somebody will fine your dead body, or your dead body will never be found, ether way there’s no escaping death. Looking at these eerie images makes one’s insides churn with emotions, whether it be disgust, curiosity or sheer horror, there’s no denying that they force you to think about your own mortality and what you’re going to do with it before you end up goo on an old mattress or a blood stain on a carpet. “Cherish your yesterdays, dream your tomorrows and live your todays"
Evicted From The Grave.
At $24 per body to remain in the plot for another 4 years after being laid to rest there for 6 years, if families can no longer afford to pay for the private crypt of their dead loved ones- their dead loved ones will be evicted from their grave. In Guatemala City’s main cemetery, as soon as a lease on a grave expires, grave cleaners will come and free up the space for a new paying customer.
With a sledgehammer, grave-cleaners smashes open the crypts, removing the decomposed remains that lurk inside as vultures circle the graves from above. Any unclaimed remains will be stuffed into plastic bags, labelled and sent off to a mass grave to be reburied. Most of the excavated corpses are decomposed, but those that were laid to rest in the upper crypts, where conditions are hot and dry, become mummified. Bags of broken corpses are tossed into heaps like piles of garbage waiting to be transported on forklift trucks to their new burial site. Once the corpses have been removed, the coffins will be discarded, and thrown onto a rubbish dump near the graveyard. Remains that are claimed by family members are stored in a box and then deposited at an ossuary at the general cemetery.
