Putrefaction after burial: study of 26 exhumed bodies

ABSTRACT

A retrospective study of 26 necropsies done on exhumed bodies buried at various cemeteries of Karachi was conducted to evaluate the physical changes occurring in the body after burial. The cases were selected from the files of the Police Surgeon at Karachi. Seventy-seven% of the dead bodies were reported to be found in state of decomposition showing early putrefactive changes involving the soft tissues. Whereas 23% of the bodies were found in skeletonised stage. The main objective of this study was to correlate the physical state of the body with the time factor, considering the nature of the soil and the material of the coffin