Page 91 - Veritas

FEATURE ARTICLES

THANATOLOGY AND STAGES OF

DEATH

Ms. Athira E C

Ms. Jocelyn Kunju John

“Thanatology is the description or study of death and dying and the psy-
chological mechanisms of dealing with them. Thanatology is concerned

with the notion of death as popularly perceived and especially with the re-
actions of dying.” Thanatology is derived from the Greek word “Thanatos”

meaning death.

Do you know how to estimate time since death?
Do you know how to estimate time since death?
Post-mortem interval (PMI) has been classified into three stages – imme-

diate, early and late.

1) Immediate Post-mortem interval:
1) Immediate Post-mortem interval: During this period, the body under-
goes rapid biochemical changes and even physiological changes because

of the absence of circulation of blood and regulatory mechanisms. These
changes are detectable in the skin and eyes. In the eyes, the first observ-

able sign is the segmentation of retinal vessels. This usually occurs within
half an hour or two hours after death. The other sign is clouding of the

cornea, as the intraocular pressure decreases to 4mmHg. This clouding of
the cornea occurs within 2 hours after death. The skin loses its elasticity

and lustre within the first few hours after death and appears pale. Thus the
post-mortem interval between somatic and cellular intervals is within 2 to

3 hours after death and usually denotes a lack of discernible changes in the
morphology.

2) Early Post-mortem interval:
2) Early Post-mortem interval: This period is most relevant in establishing
the timeline of events and developing a theory of circumstances of death.
This period runs from 3 to 72 hours after death. The early post-mortem

phase is most frequently estimated using post-mortem changes – rigor
mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis.

76 VERITAS