Chapter 12: Human Remains

1
Chapter 12 Human Remains

• There is a brief but very informative biography
  of an individual contained within the skeleton,
  if you know how to read it
• Clyde Snow, Forensic Anthropologist

2
The Pathologist

• Determines the time of death. This can be done
  most accurately if the body is found within the
  first 24 hours of death
• Uses certain indicators such as algor, livor and
  rigor mortis.

3
Rigor Mortis

• Skeletal muscles partially contract
• Joints stiffen, lock in place
• Onset is 10 minutes to several hours
• Rapid cooling can delay it
• Lasts up to 72 hours

4
Chemistry of Rigor Mortis

• Living muscle cells use oxygen to burn glycogen
• After death no oxygen body makes lactic and
  pyruvic acids
• pH falls as acidity increases
• Acid promotes a reaction between actin and myosin
  which work together to contract the muscle
• Muscle shortens until all ATP and acetylcholine
  is used up

5
Muscle Contraction
6
End of Rigor Mortis

• The muscles relax when the body starts to
  decompose and the fibers begin to break down
• Autolysis- Digestive enzymes are released as the
  cells begin to disintegrate, destroying the
  muscle fibers
• Meat is more tender after rigor mortis has passed
  (Aged Beef?)

7
Rigor Mortis
The rigidity of skeletal muscles after death.
Temperature Stiffness
Approximate Time of body of body
Since Death

• Warm
• Warm
• Cold
• Cold

• Not stiff
• Stiff
• Stiff
• Not stiff

• Not dead more than 3 hrs
• Dead between 3 and 8 hrs
• Dead 8 to 30 hours
• Dead more than 30 hours

8
Livor Mortis

• Livor mortis is the settling of blood, resulting
  in a reddish or purplish color pattern.
• Lividity can indicate the position of the body
  after death. When lividity becomes fixed, then
  the distribution of the pattern will not change
  even if the bodys position is altered.
• Lividity usually becomes fixed between 10 and 15
  hours after death.

9
Livor Mortis

• Soon after death, blood is still in vessels, so
  pressure on an area pushes the blood out
• As time goes on blood vessels break down as do
  blood cells and hemoglobin break down pigment
  moves out into the tissues
• Contact pallor is caused by pressure or
  constrictive clothing prevents blood from pooling
  locally

10
Livor Mortis
11
Livor Mortis

• After death cells release enzyme (fibrinolysins)
  that prevents clotting
• Blood in body stays liquid after death
• Permanently wont clot 30-60 minutes after death

12
Algor Mortis

• Algor mortis is the cooling rate of the body
  after death. At a crime scene, the body
  temperature is obtained through
• Rectal temperature
• Liver temperature
• Glaister equation
• 98.4F - internal temperature/1.5 hours
  elapsed since death
• Generally the body cools 1 to 1.5 degrees
  Fahrenheit per hour until it reaches the
  surrounding temperature.

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Algor Mortis

• Body cools by
• Radiation
• (the higher the body temperature the more heat
  lost)
• Conduction depends on surface contact
• faster if in water because enhanced contact
• Convection
• Wind cools faster

14
Effects that Influence Algor Mortis

• Temperature of the surrounding environment
• Type of clothing on the body
• Clothing Insulates body from heat loss
• Wetness of the clothing
• Air movement
• Layers of clothing
• Size of the individual
• ObesityFat insulates, temperature falls more
  slowly
• Ratio of surface area to volume Children, thin
  people cool faster
• In water? Cooling is faster since water is a
  better conductor of heat than air

15
Determining Long Post Mortem Intervals

• Decomposition occurs in stages
• Initial Decay (0-3 days)
• Autolysis--bodys own enzymes destroys tissue
• Begins immediately
• Putrefaction (4-10 days)
• Bacteria in gut leak out
• Anaerobic conditions
• Bloat from hydrogen sulfide, methane, cadaverine,
  putrescine released

16
The Smell of Death
putrescine
cadaverine
Breakdown products from amino acids ornithine and
lysine Amino acid loses CO2 H white C
turquoise N blue
17
Determining Long Post Mortem Intervals

• Black Putrefaction (10-20 days)
• Body collapses
• Liquid seeps into the soil
• Butyric Fermentation (20-50 days)
• Cheesy smell from butyric acid
• Maggots leave
• Beetles arrive
• Dry decay (beyond 50 days)
• Hair is consumed by moths and mites
• Bones are left

18
Longer Term Estimates of Time of Death

• Monitoring ratios of body decay products in the
  soil

Dr. Arpad Vass, ORNL The Body Farm U. Tenn. The
first well controlled experiments to explore
decomposition
19
Volatile Fatty Acid AnalysisResults from the
Body Farm

• Depends on temperature
• The hotter, the faster the reactions proceed
• Accumulated Degree Days (sum average daily temp)
• Decay is linear in Accumulated Degree Days
• Depends on whether body was buried or not
• Decay is faster on the surface
• More insect activity
• Warmer2 feet down is fairly constant 50-55o F
• Decay is slower in acid soil
• Pine forests have very acid soil
• Decay is slower if the body is sprayed with
  insecticide

20
AdipocereGrave Wax

• Adipocere is a wax-like substance formed by the
  hydrolysis of fat to fatty acids and soaps in
  presence of bacterial enzymes.
• It is resistant to bacteria and slows further
  decomposition.
• Formation begins within a month of death, and in
  the absence of air it can last for centuries.
• Formation can occur in embalmed or untreated
  corpses.

21
Adipocere

• Adipocere is formed under the following
  conditions
• On bodies are not exposed to insects
• In a moist, airless environment (bottom of a
  lake, wet ground)
• Prominent on cheeks, buttocks, stomach, breasts
  (areas with lots of fat)
• An exposed, infested body (with insects), or a
  body in a warm environment is unlikely to form
  deposits of adipocere.

22
Otzi, the Ice Man

• 5300 year old body
• Found by hikers in Austrian Alps
• Otzi is primarily now adipocere

www.spectroscopynow.com/.../MS_Feb08_otzi.jpg
23
Adipocere Grave Wax

• Over a timescale of centuries, adipocere in
  sealed airtight containers (such as lead-lined
  coffins used by the Romans) can turn into body
  liquor" - a brown/orange fatty liquid that may be
  highly infectious.

24
Summary of Decomposition
Algor Mortis Body cooling rate
Livor Mortis skin discoloration caused by
pooling of blood
Rigor Mortis rigidity of skeletal muscles
Temperature of body Stiffness of body Time since death
Warm Not stiff Not dead more than 3 hours
Warm Stiff Dead between 3 and 8 hours
Cold Stiff Dead between 8 and 36 hours
Cold Not stiff Dead for more than 36 hours
A pathologist estimates time of death from these
factors.
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Summary of Stages of Death
Stage Description
Initial or fresh decay (autolysis) The cadaver appears fresh externally but is decomposing internally due to the activities of bacteria present before death (04 days).
Putrefaction or bloating The cadaver is swollen by gas produced internally, accompanied by the odor of decaying flesh (410 days).
Black putrefaction Flesh of creamy consistency, with exposed body parts black. Body collapses as gases escape. Fluids drain from body. Odor of decay very strong (1020 days).
Butyric fermentation Cadaver drying out. Some flesh remains at first cheesy odor from butyric acid (2050 days).
Dry decay (diagenesis) Cadaver almost dry slow rate of decay. May mummify (50365 days).
26
Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropology is a type of applied
anthropology that specializes in the changes and
variations in the human skeleton for the purpose
of legal inquiry
27
Forensic Anthropology

• A forensic anthropologist may provide basic
  identification information of skeletonized or
  badly decomposed remains.
• From a whole bone or part of a bone, the
  scientist may be able to determine
• An age range
• Sex
• Race
• Approximate height
• Cause of death, disease, or anomaly

28
Osteology

• Study of bones
• 206 bones in an adult human
• Function of bones
• Provides structure and rigidity
• Protects soft tissue and organs
• Serves as an attachment for muscles
• Produces blood cells
• Serves as a storage area for minerals
• Can detoxify the body by removing heavy metals
  and other foreign elements from the blood

29
Age Determination

• Most accurate estimations from
• Teeth
• Epiphyses or growth plates
• Pubic symphysis
• Cranial sutures the three major cranial sutures
  appear as distinct lines in youth and gradually
  close from the inside out.
• Investigators always use an age range because of
  the variation in people and how they age.The
  investigator does not want to eliminate any
  possibilities for identification.

30
Age Determination Using Cranial Sutures
Sagittal suture

• Sagittal suture completely closed
• Males26 or older
• Female29 or older
• Sagittal suture is complete open
• Maleless than 32
• Femaleless than 35
• Complete closure of all three major sutures
• Maleover 35
• Femaleover 50

Lambodial
Coronal
31
Age Determination Using Basilar Suture

• Basilar Suture
• Technically known as the synchondrosis
  spheno-occipitalis, closes in females as young as
  14 and in males as young as 16. If the suture is
  open, the individual is generally considered 18
  or younger.

32
Age Determination Using Epiphysis
Stage of Union of Medial Clavicle Male Female
Non-union without separate epiphysis 21 or younger 20 or younger
Non-union with separate epiphysis 16-21 17-20
Partial union 17-30 17-33
Complete union 21 or older 20 or older
33
Age Determination Using Epiphysis
Stage of Union of the Iliac Crest Male Female
Non-union without separate epiphysis 16 or younger 11 or younger
Non-union with separate epiphysis 13-19 14-15
Partial union 14-23 14-23
Complete union 17 or older 18 or older
34
Gender Differences in Bones

• The pelvis of the female is wider. Males have a
  narrow subpubic angle (A) and a narrow pubic body
  (B).

35
Male Female
Sub Pubic Angle
36
Gender Differences

• The ribcage and shoulders of males are generally
  wider and larger than that of females. In
  addition, about one person in twenty has an extra
  rib. This is more common in males than in
  females.

37
Gender Differences

• In males the index finger is sometimes shorter
  than the third finger. In females, the first
  finger is sometimes longer than the third finger.
  This is not often used as an indicator of gender
  as there are many exceptions.

Is this a male or female hand according to the
above rule?
38
Race

• Race is difficult to determine from most
  skeletal remains, especially since pure races are
  becoming uncommon. An experienced forensic
  anthropologist can generally place skulls into
  one of three groups
• CaucasianEuropean, Middle Eastern, and Indian
  descent
• NegroidAfrican, Aborigine, and Melanesian
  descent
• MongoloidAsian, Native American and Polynesian
  descent

39
Race Characteristics

• Caucasoidshave a long, narrow nasal aperture, a
  triangular palate, oval orbits, narrow zygomatic
  arches and narrow mandibles.
• Negroidshave a wide nasal aperture, a
  rectangular palate, square orbits, and more
  pronounced zygomatic arches. The long bones are
  longer, have less curvature and greater density.
• Mongoloidshave a more rounded nasal aperture, a
  parabolic palate, rounded orbits, wide zygomatic
  arches and more pointed mandibles.

40
What differences do you notice between these
three skulls? Can you determine race?
41
Estimation of Height

• The height of a person can be calculated by
  using the length of certain long bones, including
  the femur, tibia, humerus, and radius. Below are
  the equations to determine average measurements
  for both male and female. (All measurements are
  in centimeters)

Male Female femur x 2.23 69.08 femur x
2.21 61.41 tibia x 2.39 81.68 tibia x
2.53 72.57 humerus x 2.97 73.57 humerus x
3.14 64.97 radius x 3.65 80.40 radius x
3.87 73.50
42
Odontology

• The identity of an individual can be determined
  by comparing a persons teeth to their dental
  records. Unusual features including the number
  and types of teeth and fillings, the spacing of
  the teeth, and/or special dental work (bridges,
  false teeth, root canals) help to make a positive
  identification.

43
Odontology andIdentification

• Teeth are often used for body identification
  because
• They are the hardest substances in the body
• They are unique to the individual
• X-rays are a good record of teeth

44
Facial Restoration

• After determining the sex, age, and race of an
  individual, facial features can be built upon a
  skull to assist in identification. Erasers are
  used to make tissue depths at various points on
  the skull. Clay is used to build around these
  markers and facial features are molded.

45
Steps in Facial Reconstruction

• Model muscles on skull
• Add fatty tissue around eyes and lacrimal glands
• Add eyelids
• Add the nose
• Add the parotid gland
• Add the ears
• Cover all with layers of skin
• Detail the face

• With a skull
• Establish age, sex and race
• Plot landmarks for tissue thickness
• Plot origin and insertion points for muscles
• Plot landmarks for facial features
• Select a dataset and mount markers for tissue
  thickness
• Mount the eyes

46
One Final Product

• John List killed his entire family, moved to a
  new town and assumed a new identity. Seventeen
  years later, Frank Bender reconstructed what he
  believed List would look like. It was shown on
  Americas Most Wanted, and he was turned in by
  the viewers almost immediately. . . looking very
  much like the reconstruction.
• Check out more about this story on CourtTVs
  crime library
• www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/family/lis
  t/1.html

47
People in the News

• Bill Bass is a forensic anthropologist who has
  assisted law enforcement with hundreds of cases.
  He established the worlds first and only
  laboratory devoted to the study of human
  decomposition at the University of Tennessees
  Anthropology Research Facility.
• It is known as the body farm.

48
The Body Farm

• The nickname of a two and a half acre research
  facility in Tennessee developed in 1980 by Bill
  Bass where bodies are placed in various
  conditions and allowed to decompose. Its main
  purpose is to observe and understand the
  processes and timetable of postmortem decay. Over
  the years it has helped to improve the ability to
  determine "time since death" in murder cases.
• Hic locus est ubi mortui viveuntes docent.
• This is the place where the dead teach the
  living.

49
Anthropologistat Work

• This anthropologist is
• hard at work dusting
• away material from
• these imbedded bones.
• Picture taken at
• Chicagos Museum
• of Natural History

50
More Applications
Forensic experts may be called upon to give
information on the life and death of humans and
animals in unique circumstances, including

• Mass Murder (Oklahoma bombing, plane crashes,
  World Trade)
• Earlier man (mummies, Iceman, Lindow man)
• Historical Significance (Holocaust, uncertain
  death of famous people)
• Prehistoric Animals (Dinosaurs)

51
Animal Facial Restoration
Determining what T Rex looked like using the bone
formation. From this To this
52
More Information
For additional information on Bill Bass and the
Body Farm www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/foren
sics/bill_bass/4.html On forensic
artists http//origin-www.crimelibrary.com/crimin
al_mind/forensics/art/1.html