Estimation of the time since death in the early post-mortem period
Estimation of the time since death in the early post-mortem period
复制标题
DOI：
10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.04.051
复制
发表时间：
2004-09-10
影响因子：
2.2
通讯作者：
Madea, B
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Henssge, C;Madea, B
在死后早期估计死亡时间的标准是由讲德语的法律医学研究所的科学贡献确定的。基于尸体冷却的死亡时间估计方法与其他方法相比存在差异：尸体冷却主要是一个物理过程；生物过程（如死前发热、体温过低或死后产热）的影响相对较低，身体状况（解剖学）是可识别的，可在估计死亡时间时加以考虑。即使在网上，尸体的温度也很容易测量。这可能就是为什么很早就将尸体的直肠温度作为估计死亡时间的标准而受到科学关注的原因。雷尼的出版物b[1]的理论内容比100年后出版的许多出版物更为重要。他将牛顿冷却定律应用于尸体的冷却，因此，他考虑了环境温度。通过多次测量温度，他甚至可以根据牛顿冷却系数，通过实验确定温度下降曲线的个别陡峭程度。此外，Rainy已经将人死后的温度平台[2]确定为单指数模式（牛顿）的偏角，并始终将计算的死亡时间指定为最小时间。1955年，Saram等人在单指数模型中加入了一个关于死后高原期的固定附加项，因此，他可以用数学方法重现他在死后12小时（hpm）的环境温度约为308c下获得的温度曲线，错误率相对较低。Fiddes和Patten[4]标准化了死亡时0和完全温度平衡时1之间的相对温度下降，以及0和1之间的必要时间。标准化曲线符合牛顿定律，但没有考虑人死后的温度平台；在实际应用中，每个间隔需要进行两次温度测量。1958年，Sellier b[5]采用了一种完全不同的方法来描述温度下降曲线：他将一个无限长圆柱体的热力学模型应用于尸体的冷却。模型函数允许对温度梯度方向和冷却边缘条件的影响进行信息推导。Sellier自己认为这个模型过于复杂，无法实际应用。通过考虑冷却来确定死亡时间的最新理论发展由Mall等人于1998年和1999年发表[6,7]，对于理解和实际应用都很重要。1953年，Schwarz和Heidenwolf提出了第一个类似的s型标准曲线，该曲线仅适用于单一范围的环境温度（17 - 38℃），并且应该适用于任何重量和冷却条件（衣服，覆盖物等）-但事实并非如此。这些标准化的尸体冷却和限制死亡时间的步骤只是部分的进步，但它们也是一种倒退。因此，在温度下降曲线的数学描述及其在确定死亡时间方面的实际应用方面，自Rainy的模型以来的100多年来都无法实现真正的进步。
The standard of death time estimation in the early postmortem period is determined by scientific contributions by German-speaking institutes of legal medicine. Methods of death time estimation based on cooling of the corpse show differences compared with other methods: The cooling of the corpse is mainly a physical process; the influence of biological processes (eg fever ante-mortal, hypothermia or post-mortal heat production) is relatively low, physical conditions (anatomy) are recognizable and can be considered in death time estimation. Temperatures of corpses are easily measurable even online. These might be the reasons for the fact that rectal temperature measurement of corpses was in the centre of scientific interest as a criterion for death time estimation quite early. The theoretical content of Rainy’s publications [1] was more important than that of many publications which were published 100 years later. He transferred the Newton-rule of cooling to the cooling of corpses and, thus, he considered the environmental temperature. By measuring the temperature several times he could even determine experimentally the individual steepness of the temperature drop curve according to the Newton cooling coefficient. Additionally Rainy already identified the postmortal temperature plateau [2] as declination of the singleexponential-model (Newton) and consistently designated the calculated death time as minimum time. In 1955 Saram et al.[3] added a fixed additive term regarding the postmortal plateau to the single-exponential-model and, thus, he could reproduce mathematically the temperature curves which he gained in environmental temperatures of about 30 8C until 12 h post-mortem (hpm) with a comparably low rate of mistakes. Fiddes and Patten [4] standardized the temperature drop relatively between 0 at death and 1 at complete temperature balance and the necessary times as well between 0 and 1. Thus, Patten could present a single standardized curve which he could explain theoretically. The standardized curve corresponded to the Newton-rule—but without considering the post-mortal temperature plateau; for practical use two temperature measurements were necessary in each interval. In 1958 Sellier [5] pursued a totally different approach to describe the temperature drop curve: He applied a thermodynamic model of a cylinder of infinite length to the cooling of corpses. The model function allowed informative derivation of the direction of the temperature gradient and of the influence of marginal conditions of cooling. Sellier himself thought that this model was too complicated for practical application. More recent theoretical developments of death time determination by consideration of cooling were published in 1998 and 1999 by Mall et al.[6, 7] and are important regarding understanding as well as practical use. In 1953 Schwarz and Heidenwolf [8] presented the first analogous sigmoidal standard curve which was only valid for a single range of ambient temperature (17 þ 3 8C) and should have been valid for any weight and cooling conditions (cloths, covering, etc.)—what it was not. These steps of standardization of cooling of corpses and limitation of death time were only partially a progress but they were also a step back. Thus, a real step forward in the mathematical description of the temperature drop curve and its practical use regarding death time determination could not be achieved in over 100 years since Rainy’s model.