Interaction of various necrobionts during corpse decomposition and application of the microbiological zoological study data for the reconstruction of the conditions of the post-mortem period

Abstract

Analysis of the scientific literature demonstrated that the study of the dynamic of post-mortem changes is one of the actual problems of the forensic thanatology. The establishment of patterns occurring in the post-mortem period is directly related to the determination of the duration of this period and, accordingly, the post-mortem interval. This is especially difficult in cases where the object of study is in a state of putrefactive changes or in the form of skeletonized remains with a minimal amount of soft tissue. The terms of the post-mortem transformation of the body due to putrefactive processes, the destruction of corpse tissue by insects and vertebral scavengers, its skeletonization and fragmentation are very variable. In this regard, it seems relevant to comprehensively compare the results of traditional methods for studying a corpse and studying the effects of microflora, entomofauna and vertebral scavengers. The data obtained will allow experts to more accurately and objectively reconstruct the conditions of the post-mortem period using forensic-zoological and microbial-entomological criteria.