What Are The Significant Factors That Influence The Rate Of Post-mortem Cooling?

There are several endogenous as well as exogenous factors that contribute significantly in determining the rate of cooling during post-mortem phase. They are –

• Body mass: Body mass plays a significant role in determining how fast a corpse will lose heat. A body high in body mass, that is, a fat one, will lose heat more slowly than that of a body low in body mass, that is, slender one. It is primarily because fat acts as an insulator so it restricts the body to lose heat faster.

• Air flow: The air flow causes heat to lose by convection method, which eventually leads a fall in temperature. This is very crucial phenomenon in which the environmental condition must be analysed during the determination process such as consideration of windy weather if there is an outdoor scene of death and if it is an indoor event, the door and window conditions must be taken under consideration, that is, whether locked or opened during the scene.

• Humidity: Due to high humidity, the corpse may lose the heat by the process of evaporation.

• Clothing: Clothing is an important issue as well for taking under consideration. It may act as an insulator, hence leads to decelerate heat falling process.

• Immersion in water or watery surface: If the corpse is immersed into the water or is found on the water surface, the heat may decrease by the method of conduction in a much faster way than in air.