Modern ideas about the stages of decomposition and the possibilities of forensic reconstruction of the conditions of the postmortem period

• Published in: Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Medicine
• Main Authors: Lavrukova, Olga S., Polyakov, Аleksei Yu., Beraya, Roman F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: St Petersburg State University 2023
• Subjects: corpse; decomposition; stages; conditions of the post-mortem period; age of death; modern approach; Republic of Karelia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu11.2023.404; http://hdl.handle.net/11701/45164

The decomposition of a corpse is a long process in time and is one of the irreversible, as it is due to the natural need for the natural recycling of nutrients in dead organic matter (dead bodies of humans and animals). The duration of decomposition varies within very wide boundaries: from several months to several hundred and thousands of years. The article conducted an analytical review of works on the processes occurring in the dead body, the staging of decomposition, and the possibilities of forensic medical reconstruction of the conditions of the postmortem period, including the establishment of the duration of the post-mortal interval. A modern approach to the consideration of postmortem changes is presented, indicating that establishing the conformity of the pathomorphology of the decomposition of corpse tissues and its underlying abiotic and biotic factors can be a justification for its actual stages. However, the degradation characteristics of dead bodies depend on a number of factors acting together on the corpse and often catalytically or inhibitively acting on each other. All these changes, with the possibility of their comprehensive analysis (taking into account numerous factors affecting their dynamics), play a crucial role in establishing the duration of the postmortal interval. The study was supported by the grant of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) no. 23-25-10061, conducted jointly with the Republic of Karelia and funded by the Venture Investment Fund of the Republic of Karelia.