death from apoplexy, the temperature of the body is frequently maintained, even above the natural standard, to a period beyond that in which it would be totally abstracted from an inanimate mass under other circumstances.[1] It has been laid down as a general rule, that the more sudden the death, the longer is cadaverous stiffness from taking place, M. Orfila also states, that if the body of a person suffocated, either by a non-respirable gas, or by strangulation, be cold or stiff, we may be certain that more than twelve hours have elapsed since the fatal event, for in death by such causes, the heat of the body is preserved for at least that period; this statement is corroborated by Richerand, who says that in asphyxia from carbonic acid, the blood preserves its fluidity, the limbs their flexibility, and the body its natural heat for some hours after death. When the process of putrefaction has established itself, we must deduce our conclusions from the extent of its progress, always taking into consideration the collateral circumstances which may have operated in retarding or accelerating its developement, such as the state of the atmosphere in relation to temperature and humidity, the particular circumstances of the spot in which the body was found, &c.
The determining, as accurately as possible, the length of time the individual has been dead, is not only important in cases of murder; it may be highly
- ↑ Dr. Badenoch, in a work on the diseases of India, ascertained by repeated and accurate experiments, that the heat of those who die apoplectic from a "coup de soleil," or "insolation," as it is termed, continues for a considerable time several degrees higher than the natural standard; in one case, the heart felt to his hand as if it had been five or six degrees higher than in life and health, notwithstanding the body had been dead twenty-four hours.
