Abstract

PACHAR LUCIO, José Vicente. Cambios postmortem y data de la muerte en ambientes tropicales. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2013, vol.30, n.2, pp.51-57. ISSN 2215-5287.

High temperature and humidity contribute to the rapid deterioration of bodies altering their aspect and the morphology of the injuries. The tropical climate also increases the probability of the appearance of artifacts due to external factor (especially animal activity) or internal (body factors). When a decomposed body is found, the post mortem interval is established using, among others, the available criteria of reference in the medico legal literature. Nevertheless, specific studies on post mortem changes and time of death in tropical environments, as those found in the Republic of Panama, are scanty. Most of the available information refers to the variations in moderate climates with seasonal variations. A review of the criteria of beginning and development of the cadaveric phenomena (especially decomposition) recorded by authors of different countries in different climates, with the intention of documenting the disparities of existing criteria and limited application in the establishment of the post mortem interval in tropical environments, is done, proposing lines of research in this topic.

Keywords : Postmortem changes; Decomposed bodies; Tropical environments; Post mortem interval.

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