Skip to main content

Advanced adipocere formation after 2.5 years in a grave. Exhumation due to exclusion of an accidental death (fall) in a bathtub. The rate of decay of bodies buried in earth is much slower than of those in either air or water. In fact the process of putrefaction may be arrested to a remarkable degree in certain conditions, allowing exhumations several years later to be of considerable value. In this respect the prospect of an exhumation should never be dismissed on the grounds that because of the lapse of time, it is bound to be worthless. It may turn out to be of little value, but this cannot be anticipated, and not infrequently the condition of the body may be surprisingly good.

Fig.1 Advanced adipocere formation after 2.5 years in a grave.

Latest posts

Fig.1 Morbidly obese bodies require special lifting devices to be handled in the morgue.

Morbidly obese bodies require special lifting devices

| Decomposition | No Comments
The morbidity and mortality produced by obesity in the United States and other developed societies has reached epidemic…
Fig.1 Diptera larvae collected from the ocular cavity of a cadaver in active decay.

Diptera larvae collected from the ocular cavity of a cadaver

| Decomposition | No Comments
On June 28, 2009, a 70-year-old male corpse was found in his house in Pisa. He was lying…
Fig.1 Skin burns on a victim of lysol suicide.

Skin burns on a victim of lysol suicide

| Suicide | No Comments
Skin burns on a victim of lysol suicide. The trickle pattern makes it obvious that the victim was…
Fig.1 Greenish white molds on the forehead, right side of the cheek, perioral, and perinasal areas, and anterior part of neck, and chest.

Fungal growth on a corpse

| Decomposition | No Comments
A 42-year-old woman was discovered dead, the body was covered with fungal plaques. She had been leading a…