Module 2 · Lesson 4
Postmortem changes: the first 48 hours
After death, the body changes in a broadly predictable order. Three early changes are used to estimate how long ago death occurred: the pooling of blood (livor mortis), the stiffening of muscles (rigor mortis) and the cooling of the body (algor mortis).
Reading the signs together
No single sign gives a reliable time of death. Lividity that still blanches under pressure, rigor that is still developing, and a body that is warm to the touch together point to a short interval. Fixed lividity with fully established rigor points to a longer one.
- Each sign has a wide normal range.
- Environment changes every timing, cooling most of all.
- Record what you observe before you interpret it.