Opining of injuries, whether they are antemortem or postmortem are most often been in question. In decomposed body the question of opining antemortem injuries become paramount especially in homicidal or suspicious deaths.
So, how can we opine regarding the antemortem nature of injuries in decomposed bodies?
In decomposed bodies, contusions can be identified. Ante-mortem lacerated wounds are also identifiable in decomposed bodies. Needs close examination and some experience of seeing decomposed bodies with injuries.
It is very difficult to determine when an injury has been produced antemortem or postmortem in decomposed bodies, and this difficulty increases with the time of death. It depends of the skill of the coroner and the resources that this expert can use to do his job. As it was said, contusions can be identified, but it is hard to explain the time that has of being produced only by its color. During the first 48 hours, it is very simple by the leucocyte migration to damaged tissues, but when autolysis has been initiated, this cells could dissapear and then confuse the coroner. In other cases, when we have a clot, macroscopic or microscopic, this clot must be analyzed for search of fibrine, which can help to diagnosis. When autolysis has initiated, the problem is the same as in leucocyte migration. Some biomarkers could be useful to establish diagnosis of antemortem or postmortem injuries, but I do not have any experience using them. In court, it is preferable to be honest and to inform if it is not possible to determine the time of the injury (postmortem or antemorten), than to give a bad diagnosis. To be an expert includes to be honest when you can not determine something, or when you do not have the resources to do your job correctly. We should not make a truth from a doubt only by our alone criteria.
Thank you for your answers.
yes truly it is very difficult to opine regarding.antemortem nature.of injuries in decomposed bodies however experienced a Forensic expert may be.
he can opine it on the basisof available crime scene or other details.
however my query was more related to scientific diagnosis.of such injuries and not mere judgment on experience basis.
Such diagnosis may be biochemical pathological.microbiological etc..
In Forensic practice there is no option except to be honest and admit one's limitations. That is absolutely non debatable.
I would like to refer you to read what recently retired Coroner, who was a Forensic Pathologist also, Dr Michael Dobersen, had to say. I quote this example because I read it just two days back. He mentions a case where strangulation mark (antemortem) mentioned by him on gross examination now haunts him as to whether it could be postmortem due to the position of the head causing blood to settle in a particular way. This is not even a decomposed body!
There are difficulties in gross examination with decomposed bodies, but there are cases where it is quite obvious also on gross examination. In decomposed bodies, it would depend on the stage of decomposition and the immediate environment of the body, whether buried in ground, immersed in water or in air, amongst a whole multitude of other factors. You could have a decomposed body where injury is obvious as antemortem beyond doubt and there could be injuries where you have your doubts.
Yes,it is difficult when it is grossly decomposed . but with in say with in 48hrs of death it is little easy.
we get many decomposed bodies,therefore experience also counts.
It is difficult to determine weather an injury has been produced antemortem or postmortem in decomposed bodies . It depends of the experience of the autopsy surgeon , contusions can be identified but not in late stages of decomposition,
I agree it will be difficult but experience counts a lot here. In a freshly decomposing body merely dissecting widely the lesion one could see reminants of bleeding into the subcutaneous tissue-vincent dimaio in his book explained detail what this applies. In practice too, i have seen this in few medico-legal cases where one is been asked if the wound happened before or after death in court as expert witness. Yes, in 72hrs and possible a week death is readily possible but in extensive decomposed body months,one faces the challenges of clearing the adipocere formed on top of lesions in most cases and checking closely if is ante-mortem or postmortem with experience . In all, its best in an expert hand who have seen/done a lot of exhumation.
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