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Medicina Legal de Costa Rica
On-line version ISSN 2215-5287Print version ISSN 1409-0015
Abstract
GONZALEZ MEDINA, Alejandro; GONZALEZ HERRERA, Lucas; DE LA HIGUERA HIDALGO, José and JIMENEZ RIOS, Gilberto. Evaluación práctica de las alteraciones postmortem debidas a la actividad de los artrópodos. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2013, vol.30, n.1, pp.07-15. ISSN 2215-5287.
After death of a living organism, the activity of insects is the main mechanism by which decomposing organic matter returns to the nutritional chain. However, it is necessary to consider that this activity can imply modifications of great taphonomic and forensic interest. If its magnitude is not known well, it can induce to error in the later analysis of the forensic pathologist. In this article, we give an organized classification of the different taphonomic phenomena induced by insects (addition, elimination and modification of the corpse) and enunciate the differential features that allow to separate them from similar pathological processes, focusing our attention on the orders Coleoptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera as the main responsibles of these modifications.
Keywords : Forensic entomology; taphonomy; diptera; coleoptera; lepidoptera; postmortem modification.