Table showing the order in which the
Internal Organs undergo Putrefaction:
- 1. The Trachea.
- 2. The Brain of Infants.
- 3. The Stomach.
- 4. The Intestines.
- 5. The Spleen.
- 6. The Omentum and Mesentery.
- 7. The Liver.
- 8. The Adult Brain.
- 9. The Heart.
- 10. The Lungs.
- 11. The Kidneys.
- 12. The Bladder.
- 13. The Gullet.
- 14. The Pancreas.
- 15. The Diaphragm.
- 16. The Blood-vessels.
- 17. The Uterus.
Organs which Putrefy Early
1. The Trachea, including the Larynx.—The rapid change in the trachea must be borne in mind, in order to avoid the error of attributing death to suffocation or drowning. An examination of the trachea should never be omitted.
2. The Brain of Infants up to the First Year.
3. The Stomach.—The first traces of putrefaction are seen in from four to six days after death. All the coats of the stomach are softened, but there is no excoriation, as is the case when corrosive poisons are taken. Emphysematous separation of the mucous coat may be present, but must not be confounded with the excoriation just mentioned.
4. The Intestines.—Casper declares that he does not remember any case in the course of his experience where the intestines were “found earlier putrefied than the stomach.” In the course of putrefaction they become of a dark brown colour, bursting, and allowing an escape of their contents; and they ultimately become changed into a dark pultaceous mass.
5. The Spleen.—This organ in some cases putrefies before the stomach and intestines; but, as a rule, it resists decomposition longer.
6. The Omentum and Mesentery.