Approach to the autopsy examination of an adult decomposing body

Whilst it may be unpleasant, the autopsy examination of decomposing bodies is a rewarding task that will usually reveal the cause of death when performed with care. After death, the body undergoes a series of putrefactive decompositional changes in a predictable order, unless conditions favouring desiccation/mummification or adipocere formation intervene. All three decompositional changes may be present in the same body. Determining the postmortem interval in such bodies is fraught with difficulty.

Source: Diagnostic Histopathology - April 29, 2023 Category: Pathology Authors: Julian Burton Tags: Mini-symposium: autopsy pathology Source Type: research