William Aguilar-Navarro

By William Aguilar-Navarro and Carmen Cerda-Aguilar

The autopsy and the external examination of the corpse become a decisive instance when resolving issues of various matters related to an individual. Its aim is not only to establish a diagnosis, but also to provide information about facts related to an illness or legal proceedings. The main tasks of this analysis are firstly to establish death and then to determine the cause and manner of death.

Part of the book: Autopsy

By William Aguilar-Navarro and Carmen Cerda-Aguilar

After the death of individuals, sequential degradative processes called autolysis and putrefaction are initiated in the tissues, processes that cause total or partial degradation, sometimes leaving remnants of tissue. Mummification is a process by which the degradative processes are slowed and, in some cases, stopped, allowing the tissue to be apparently preserved. There are two main types of mummification: natural and artificial; natural mummification is caused by conditions related to the environment in which the tissues are located. Within the artificial techniques, there is cadaveric preservation (embalming), a procedure currently used for health and scientific studies. To carry out studies of tissues in some degree of decomposition or mummified, it is necessary to submit the samples for a process called recovery and/or rehydration, by means of immersion techniques in hypotonic solutions, which facilitates the processing and subsequent analysis of the characteristics of these tissues, both macroscopically and microscopically.

Part of the book: Unlocking the Mysteries of Death