Re-oxygenation of haemoglobin in livores after post-mortem exposure to a cold environment

Abstract

When a body is exposed to a cold environment, the livid colour of livor mortis changes to cherry red. This colour change is due to an increase in the concentration of oxygenated haemoglobin. The chronological course and the extent of haemoglobin re-oxygenation associated with the exposure to low ambient temperatures have not been understood so far. The relations between refrigeration time under a constant ambient temperature (5 degrees C), skin temperature, body mass index (BMI), spectral reflectance curve and O2-Hb concentration in livor mortis were systematically investigated in 84 bodies brought to the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Freiburg University Hospital shortly after death. In the first measurements performed shortly after death, the reflectance curves of the livores of all bodies showed a broad minimum at 555 nm. After a refrigeration time of 44.9 +/- 17.9 h, the spectrum changed to the typical picture of O2-rich blood with 2 minima at 541 and 576 nm and a maximum at 560 nm in between. This qualitative change of the reflectance spectra was observed for a skin temperature of 10.3 +/- 2.7 degrees C. With the help of a physical skin model it was possible to calculate that due to the post-mortem exposure to cold the O2-Hb concentration in the livores rose from 0-1% to a value of up to 89.3%. The change in the reflectance curve was discernible from an oxygen saturation of 25 +/- 13.8%.

Postmortem serum erythropoietin levels in establishing the cause of death and survival time at medicolegal autopsy

“…In determining the cause of death, not only the traumas or diseases that are immediately responsible for death but also predispositions and/or complications as contributory factors are of medicolegal importance [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. For contributory factors, anemic and/or hypoxic conditions due to preexisting disorders may be involved in the death process as a susceptibility to diseases or traumas, while these conditions may also be involved in the death process as a consequence of fatal diseases or traumas [8][9][10].…”

Similarity Analysis of Spectra Obtained via Reflectance Spectrometry in Legal Medicine

“…It is the most important method for analyzing skin in vivo, 22 determining optical properties of turbid media, 23 detecting the influence of probe pressure on human skin, 24 and determining the age of traumatic injuries 25 and bruises, 26 as well as the early diagnosis of some diseases. 27 In legal and forensic medicine, it helps to estimate the cooling process and to confirm that the discoloration of livor mortis due to cooling is caused by reoxygenation of hemoglobin [28][29][30] or to model the dynamics of the hemoglobin reoxygenation process in postmortem human skin. 31 Measurements were performed with the diode array spectrophotometer MCS 400 (Carl-Zeiss-Jena GmbH, Jena, Germany) and a halogen bulb as a light source (standard illuminant D65).…”

Scientific Information Repository Assisting Reflectance Spectrometry in Legal Medicine

“…Here the SIR lends itself well to comprehensive, collective studies, as has been shown in other studies. 9,10 One challenge that we had to overcome was the amenability of the SIR. Domain experts cannot be expected to also be IT experts.…”

“…The central idea of the presented project is the characterization of postmortem human skin by means of reflectance spectrometry and the analysis of the resulting spectra with respect to a physical model describing the optical properties of human skin. 9,10 Starting from this experimental idea, we have developed a light-weight SIR that assists in the acquisition and management of reflectance spectra and acts as a research platform for the analysis of reflectance spectra and communicating the results.…”