Sluis Iris, Duijst Wilma, Krap Tristan
Faculty of Law and Criminology, Maastricht University, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Forensic Laboratory Research, University of Applied Sciences Van Hall Larenstein, Agora 1, 8934 CJ Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
Biology (Basel). 2023 Aug 24;12(9):1164. doi: 10.3390/biology12091164.
Studying post-mortem changes based on signs of decomposition (e.g., using scoring models) is one of the methods used in scientific studies to relate observable changes to the post-mortem interval (PMI). The majority of the studies on cadaver decomposition are based on large cadavers. There is limited literature on the decomposition pattern and rate of small cadavers, even though it is at least as important to be able to estimate the PMI for infants and subadults. Therefore, it is crucial to acquire knowledge of the decomposition process of child-sized remains. To fill this knowledge gap, a season-based subaerial outdoor decomposition study was conducted with small pig cadavers at the Forensic Anthropological Outdoor Research Facility located in Den Ham, The Netherlands, over a period of 4 years. Den Ham is located in the eastern part of the Netherlands, close to the German border, and has a temperate maritime climate, with a Cfb classification according to the Köppen-Geiger system. Salient findings were acquired during the decomposition study, specifically regarding a deviating decomposition rate during winter and the subsequent spring, reproducibility, the effect of body weight, post-mortem movement, the effect of heavy rainfall on insect activity, delayed bloating, the interaction of different insect species, and invertebrate activity. This article includes a systemic review of the results obtained during this four-year decomposition study and discusses the impact of the findings on the estimation of the PMI.
基于尸体分解迹象（如使用评分模型）研究死后变化是科学研究中用于将可观察到的变化与死后间隔时间（PMI）相关联的方法之一。大多数关于尸体分解的研究是基于大型尸体。关于小型尸体的分解模式和速率的文献有限，尽管能够估计婴儿和亚成年人的PMI至少同样重要。因此，了解儿童尺寸遗体的分解过程至关重要。为了填补这一知识空白，在荷兰登哈姆的法医人类学户外研究设施，对小猪尸体进行了为期4年的基于季节的露天户外分解研究。登哈姆位于荷兰东部，靠近德国边境，具有温带海洋性气候，根据柯本-盖格系统分类为Cfb。在分解研究过程中获得了显著发现，特别是关于冬季和随后春季期间不同的分解速率、可重复性、体重的影响、死后移动、暴雨对昆虫活动的影响、延迟胀气、不同昆虫种类的相互作用以及无脊椎动物活动。本文对这四年分解研究期间获得的结果进行了系统综述，并讨论了这些发现对PMI估计的影响。
