برودة الموت

الخط الزمني لتغيرات ما بعد الموت (مراحل الموت)، وتُمَثَّل برودة الموت بالخط الأحمر لدرجة الحرارة

برودة الموت (Algor mortis ؛ من Latin algor، وتعني "برودة", و mortis، وتعني "الموت")، ثالث مراحل الموت، هي التغير في درجة حرارة الجسم بعد الموت، حتى تساوي درجة حرارة الجو المحيط. This is generally a steady decline, although if the ambient temperature is above the body temperature (such as in a hot environment), the change in temperature will be positive, as the (relatively) cooler body equalizes with the warmer environment. External factors can have a significant influence.

The term was first used by Bennet Dowler in 1849. The first published measurements of the intervals of temperature after death were done by John Davy in 1839.

 إمكانية التطبيق

An XY plot of the Glaister equation with values from 37 °C to 20 °C (a commonly used ambient temperature)

A measured rectal temperature can give some indication of the time of death. Although the heat conduction which leads to body cooling follows an exponential decay curve, it can be approximated as a linear process: 2 °C during the first hour and 1 °C per hour until the body nears ambient temperature.

The Glaister equation estimates the hours elapsed since death as a linear function of the rectal temperature:

$(36.9^{\circ }C-\text{rectal temperature in Celsius})\cdot \frac{6}{5}$

or

$\frac{98.4{}^{\circ }\mathrm{F}-\text{rectal temperature in Fahrenheit}}{1.5}$

 التفاوت

Generally, temperature change is considered an inaccurate means of determining time of death, as the rate of change is affected by several key factors, including:

• Stability or fluctuation of the ambient temperature.
• The thickness (i.e. thermal insulation value) and body coverage of clothing or similar materials.
• The thermal conductivity of the surface on which a body lies.
• Diseases or drugs which increase body temperature and thereby raise the starting temperature of the corpse at the time of death
• The existence of a "temperature plateau", a highly variable length of time in which the body does not cool.

 للاستزادة

• Saferstein, Richard (2004). Criminalistics: Introduction to Forensics (8th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-113706-9.
• Karen T. Taylor, "Forensic art and illustration", CRC Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8493-8118-5, p. 308
• Robert G. Mayer, "Embalming: history, theory, and practice", McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005, ISBN 0-07-143950-1, p. 106
• Calixto Machado, "Brain death: a reappraisal", Springer, 2007, ISBN 0-387-38975-X, pp. 73–74

 وصلات خارجية

• Standards Employed to Determine Time of Death
• Estimation of the time since death (by rectal temperature, C. Henssge, 2004).