Temperature measurement from the brain and rectum in charred corpses: a pilot study on an animal model.
Measurement of body temperature provides relevant data on postmortem interval, and different studies have been so far attempted to apply temperature assessment methods also under extreme environmental conditions; however, none of them has been performed yet on charred or heated bodies, where temperature measurement is presumed to be unreliable because of the possible influence of heating. This study aimed at verifying any possible early-stage alterations of rectal and endocranial temperature due to fire on an animal model during the charring process. Three pigs, 2 adults (pigs 1 and 2) whose weight was about 50 kg each and 1 piglet weighing 3 kg, were heated and burnt on a natural fire lit on top of a wooden stack, without the use of accelerants; 2 thermocouples were positioned in the rectum and in the cranium to record second-by-second rectal and endocranial temperature values. Results demonstrate that the rectal temperature does not seem to increase in adult pigs for 40 to 50 minutes after the body has been exposed to fire, probably because of the thermal insulating characteristics of the adipose tissue. Therefore, temperature may still be of some help for estimating postmortem interval on heated or burnt cadavers.
From the *LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale, DMU-Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano; and †Dipartimento di Meccanica, Sezione Misure Meccaniche e Termiche, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Daniele
D
Gibelli
Angela
A
Cantatore
Davide
D
Porta
Pasquale
P
Poppa
Remo
R
Sala
Grandi
G
Marco
Cristina
C
Cattaneo
D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002056:Burns / Q000503:physiopathology; D005390:Fires; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods; D023421:Models, Animal; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012007:Rectum / Q000502:physiology*; D013552:Swine; D013997:Time Factors