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THE ATTIC : Putrefaction

Date Added
JAN 2003

When a human body dies, when its functions cease, the process of decomposition begins. Some cells remain chemically active and live longer than others (which makes transplants possible) but by the time rigor mortis departs the body putrefaction has begun, and its progress can be seen on the following table:

PERIOD	CHANGE TO BODY	CHANGE IF SUBMERSED IN WATER
HOURS	Cooling of body
0-12	1 1/2 - 2°F (approx.) per hour	3°F (average) per hour
	3/4 - 1°F (approx.) per hour	1 1/2°F (average) per hour
		[5 - 6 hours - body feels cold
		8 - 10 hours - body is cold]
10 - 12	Body feels cold to touch
20 - 24	Body is cold (internal and surface)
HOURS	Lividity
3 - 5	Begins to develop	Cutis anserina ('goose flesh') and whitening of the skin
HOURS	Rigor Mortis
5 - 7	Begins in face, jaw and neck muscles	Variable Development
7 - 9	Arms and trunk, then legs
12 - 18	Full rigor mortis
24 - 36	Rigor mortis leaves body in the same order	Rigor mortis often still present
		[2 - 4 days] Rigor disappears
DAYS	Putrefaction
2	Green staining on flanks of abdomen
2 - 3	Green and purple staining on abdomen, body begins to distend
3 - 4	'Marbling' of veins, staining spreads to neck and limbs	Root of neck discolours
5 - 6	Abdomen swells with gases. Skin blisters	Face and neck swollen and discoloured
6 - 10		Body floats. Decomposition on trunk
WEEKS
2	Abdomen tightly distended. Organs disrupted by gases	Skin beginning to peel and hair easily pulled out
3	Vesicles burst, tissue softens, organs and cavities bursting	Face further bloated and discoloured
4	Disruption and liquefaction of soft tissue	Body greatly bloated with gases, organs crepitant, hair so loose as to be wiped from the scalp, finger and toe nails easily removed
MONTHS	Formation of Adipocere (if conditions are damp)
4 - 5	Established on face and head	Develops less quickly as temperature is lower
5 - 6	Established on trunk

These are the chronological processes in detail:

1. Greenish discolouration on right flank of abdomen. (Colour changes result from changes in the blood due to the action of bacteria.

2. Staining spreads over the whole of the abdomen, and begins to appear on other parts of the body.

3. Face begins to swell and discolour.

4. Swelling and discolouration of the scrotum (in a male) or vulva (female).

5. Abdomen distends with gases. (Generally the gases arising from putrefaction are sulphuretted hydrogen, phosphoretted hydrogen, and ammonia.)

6. Skin develops blisters of various sizes, which subsequently burst accompanied by the shedding of large areas of the epidermis.

7. Fluids escapes from nostrils and mouth; eyeballs liquefy.

8. Whole body discoloured, abdomen greatly distended.

9. Insect infestation of body.

10. Finger and toe nails loosen and shed, hair loosens and falls away.

11. Tissue begins to soften and liquefy, face become unrecognizable.

12. Abdominal and thoracic cavities burst.

13. Tissues progressively dissolve.

The speed with which putrefaction is achieved will depend upon several factors.

External Factors - Presence or not of micro-organisms:

If there is a free circulation of moist air around the body and a degree of warmth, bacteria will begin to develop and more rapidly decompose the surface.

External Factors - Presence or not of air;

As a general rule air will encourage decomposition and lack of it will retard composition. Thus a clothed body will decay less quickly than a naked one, and a body buried in porous soil will decay faster than one buried in dense, heavy soil.

External Factors -Temperature;

Putrefaction onsets at around 50°F (10°C) and favours temperatures in the range 70°F to 100°F (21°C - 38°C). Greater temperatures, between 100°F and 212°F (38°C - 100°C) will retard the process due to the drying out of body fluids (which in turn may result in preservation by mummification.)

External Factors - Moisture;

The presence of moisture is vital to the process of putrefaction and normally the body's own fluids are sufficient. However, additional moisture, particularly in a warm atmosphere, will greatly accelerate decomposition.

External Factors - Type of medium (air, earth, water);

The general principle established by John Glaister (in Medical Jurisprudence) is that a body decomposes in air twice as quickly as it does in water, and eight times as quickly as in earth. (Some observation on body changes in water are noted in the above table.)

Internal Factors - Age;

Young people decay more rapidly than old because of the relative absence of fat in the latter.

Internal Factors - Sex;

No influence unless a woman has died in childbirth (particularly from septicaemia) when putrefaction will be accelerated.

Internal Factors - Size of Body;

Or more correctly body condition - the relatively greater fluid and fat content hastens decomposition in overweight people.

Internal Factors - Nature of death;

People who die suddenly while in good health putrefy less rapidly than people suffering from a disease, particularly an infective disease. Where large areas of flesh have been exposed by trauma bacterial action will hasten decay. However, certain poisons such as arsenic, antimony and zinc chloride tend to preserve the body tissues and attack the organisms of putrefaction.

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