Do people sigh after death? This is how corpses "speak"...

Expert of this article: Fan Xiaomeng, a forensic practitioner

Recently, a popular variety show has once again drawn people's attention to the profession of forensic medicine.

When it comes to forensic doctors, I believe many people will immediately imagine their busy figures at the crime scene or in the autopsy room...

"Talking to the corpse" is an important job for forensic doctors. After a person dies, there will be various corpse phenomena, and forensic doctors will make corresponding judgments based on these phenomena.

How do forensic doctors determine the time of death of a corpse? Can a person sigh after death? What is the concept of giantism? Next, we will answer your questions.

What does forensic science do?

Forensic medicine is a medical science that applies the theories and techniques of medicine, biology and other natural sciences to study and solve medical problems in legal practice.

In practice, all examinations of human bodies (corpses or living bodies) and biological samples derived from human bodies involved in criminal, civil or administrative litigation fall within the scope of forensic work.

Forensic medicine solves medical problems related to law in judicial practice, such as the estimation of the nature and time of death, the inference of the injury object and injury mechanism, the assessment of the degree of injury and disability, personal identification and paternity testing, etc. It is an area that other disciplines never involve or rarely involve.

How to determine the time of death of a corpse?

Time of death refers to the time or interval from the inference of human death to the examination of the body. Time of death and cause of death have always been the most pressing issues to be solved in forensic identification. Due to objective reasons, the main basis for inference in work is the phenomenon of the body.

After death, the body undergoes a series of changes under the influence of internal and external environmental factors, resulting in various phenomena in the body, such as body cooling, livor mortis, rigor mortis, and corruption. Generally, the body phenomena occur in a certain order, divided into early and late stages, and their changing patterns can be used as a basis for estimating the time of death. However, the inference result is only a rough range, and is affected by many factors, and is not as accurate as many people think.

In addition, any changes in the biochemical composition, cytology, and histology of the corpse, the growth level of insects and microorganisms in the environment, and even the inspection results of the deceased's electronic devices, etc., can be used as a basis for inferring the time of death as long as there is a basis and a pattern to be found.

What is the Giant View?

Gigantism is a late-stage corpse phenomenon, a sign of a highly decomposed corpse.

After a person dies, the bacteria that were parasitic in the human body when he was alive grow and multiply rapidly. These bacteria produce a large amount of dirty green putrefactive gas, which fills the blood vessels, intestines, subcutaneous soft tissues and other parts of the human body, making the human body swell like an inflated human-shaped balloon, forming the so-called "giant view".

These corrupt gases will cause increased intra-abdominal pressure and compression of the heart and lungs, causing bloody fluid to flow to the throat and overflow through the mouth and nose. The gastrointestinal tract will be compressed, causing food in the stomach to overflow from the mouth. This is called posthumous vomiting. The uterus and vagina of a female corpse may also prolapse due to pressure. If it is a pregnant female corpse, the fetus in the uterus may also be delivered due to pressure. This is called posthumous delivery or delivery in the coffin.

Do people sigh after they die?

The principle of post-mortem sighing is similar to the phenomenon of post-mortem vomiting mentioned in the previous chapter. A large amount of decaying gas accumulates in the chest cavity of the deceased, and due to various factors, the airway of the deceased is blocked and the gas cannot be discharged. After these factors are removed, the airway is opened and the gas is discharged to form a sound similar to sighing. For example, in rare cases of hanging, the rope presses the trachea in the neck, and the gas produced by the decay of the corpse cannot be released. After the rope is untied, a sound similar to "sighing" may be produced.

Any injuries encountered during an autopsy need to be determined whether they occurred before death or after death, and all injuries are inferred based on the appearance of the corpse.

Life reactions are the reactions of a living body to injuries or pathogenic factors caused by various internal and external factors, such as bleeding, blood stasis, embolism, and suction and swallowing movements. Life reactions can be used to distinguish between injuries before death and injuries after death.

For example, skull injuries before death are often accompanied by periorbital congestion, also known as "panda eyes", which is an important sign for quickly determining the cause of death and the time of injury. In distinguishing between drowning and dumping, the drowning person will inhale and swallow a large amount of drowning fluid through the mouth, nose, stomach and lungs, showing signs of suffocation, and often holding foreign objects in their hands when struggling.

What qualities does a forensic scientist need?

"To defend the rights of the living and to speak for the dead" is the original intention and oath of every forensic practitioner. We must maintain awe for life and the profession, pursue the truth, follow science, and speak with evidence.

Strong psychological quality, able to separate work from life. In the process of pursuing the truth, not to be affected by the "evil heart" behind the case and affect your yearning for a better life.

Good logical reasoning ability and knowledge reserve. During the autopsy, you must "detach" yourself from the crime scene and focus on letting the corpse "speak" to restore the case process; you must also analyze the scene and surrounding environment to assist in restoring the case process.

Become a "polymath." You need to have some knowledge of all kinds of knowledge, customs, and living habits. These knowledge will help you solve small puzzles at work and thus connect the entire case.

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