So I'm in a forensics class at my school. For those of you who don't know, forensics is the study of crime scenes and dead bodies. There are a lot more ways to study dead bodies than you would think, and a lot of them are really freaking disgusting and make me cringe. So of course I'm going to share them. You're welcome.
Toxicology workers often take vitreous humor. What is vitreous humor? It's the clear liquid in the eyes that give them their shape. They take it with this syringe-type thing. There's a really graphic video clip that shows the whole process. Luckily for you guys, I don't have the link, so I won't be sharing it.
A maggot milkshake is another thing toxicologists take. It's from inside the body and from what I understand, they grind up the maggots and test the 'maggot milkshake' to see what the maggots were eating. This can test for the presence of things in the body that should not have been there.
People have heard of rigor mortis, but there's another timed indicator of death, livor mortis. This is the setting of blood to the lowest gravitational point in the body, and can be used to determine if a body has been moved, because once it's been 10-15 hours after death, lividity does not change. It sets. So the lowest point of the body at the time that it sets would be a darker hue than the rest of the body, and if someone later tried to move the body to make it look as though the person had died in a different position, the livor mortis would reveal the truth.
Toxicologists often compare stomach content with blood content. If there is something in the bloodstream that is not in the stomach, it was likely injected.
And one more thing. As I understand it, dead bodies are capable of flatulence (farting) for hours after death.
Hope you enjoyed these facts. Be prepared for more of them in the semester to come.
