The amount of postmortem bleeding ranged from 100 to 1300 cm, 440.6 +/- 268.1 cm on average. The time since death up to the autopsy time ranged from 4 to 72 hours, 19.4 +/- 12.9 in average.
Livor mortis usually sets in 20 to 30 minutes after death and increases in intensity until it becomes fixed at about 12 hours.
A deceased person cannot bleed after death. What does sometimes happen is that the person who is dying sometimes bleeds from the mouth and it is usually caused by cancer. That depends on how long they have been dead and if their blood is all coagulated.
Goff explains, “[T]he blood begins to settle, by gravity, to the lowest portions of the body,” causing the skin to become discolored. This process may begin after about an hour following death and can continue to develop until the 9–12 hour mark postmortem.
Purge fluid is decomposition fluid that may exude from the oral and nasal passages as well as other body cavities (see the image below). Postmortem purge fluid exudes from the oral and nasal passages; no traumatic injuries were uncovered at autopsy.
After someone has died, changes will happen to the body. These changes may be upsetting for people who aren't expecting them, but be reassured they are entirely normal. The body may release stool from the rectum, urine from the bladder, or saliva from the mouth. This happens as the body's muscles relax.
Terminal respiratory secretions, commonly known as a “death rattle,” occur when mucous and saliva build up in the patient's throat. As the patient becomes weaker and/or loses consciousness, they can lose the ability to clear their throat or swallow.
In time, the heart stops and they stop breathing. Within a few minutes, their brain stops functioning entirely and their skin starts to cool. At this point, they have died.
A conscious dying person can know if they are on the verge of dying. Some feel immense pain for hours before dying, while others die in seconds. This awareness of approaching death is most pronounced in people with terminal conditions such as cancer.
After death, there is are no reflexes of the pupils to light and the cornea also loses its reflex. The cornea of the deceased also become cloudy after two hours of death. Besides that, the pressure in the eyes start to decrease and the eyeballs become flaccid before it they sink into the orbits of the eyes.
Bleeding occurs after death if blood vessels, engorged by blood postmortem, rupture. When this happens, blood gets trapped in the blood vessel or between the conjunctiva and white part or your eye.
For approximately the first 3 hours after death the body will be flaccid (soft) and warm. After about 3-8 hours is starts to stiffen, and from approximately 8-36 hours it will be stiff and cold.
An accurate time of death also can help rule out possible suspects who may have been somewhere else when the death occurred and a more general time range could create a larger window for someone's alibi. This information can be used in court to establish a case.
3-5 days after death — the body starts to bloat and blood-containing foam leaks from the mouth and nose. 8-10 days after death — the body turns from green to red as the blood decomposes and the organs in the abdomen accumulate gas. Several weeks after death — nails and teeth fall out.
In a coffin or casket, a body will decompose over time. During the first few months underground, the body will typically undergo active decay, putrefaction, and blackening. Over several decades, the tissue and organs will continue to break down and liquefy until only the teeth remain.
By three days, internal organs have decomposed. From three to five days after death, the body will begin to bloat from gasses produced from internal decomposition. The body could actually double in size and turn a greenish color. Extremely unpleasant and long-lasting odors called putrification begins.
The important findings, along with observations of long-time palliative care doctors and nurses, show: Brain activity supports that a dying patient most likely can hear. Even if awareness of sound cannot be communicated due to loss of motor responses, the value of verbal interactions is measurable and positive.
Hospice has a program that says that no one should have to die alone, and yet this hospice nurse is telling me to take a break? Some patients want to die when no one else is there. Hospice professionals know that companionship while dying is a personal preference.
Visions and Hallucinations
Visual or auditory hallucinations are often part of the dying experience. The appearance of family members or loved ones who have died is common. These visions are considered normal. The dying may turn their focus to “another world” and talk to people or see things that others do not see.
For the first few minutes of the postmortem period, brain cells may survive. The heart can keep beating without its blood supply. A healthy liver continues breaking down alcohol. And if a technician strikes your thigh above the kneecap, your leg likely kicks, just as it did at your last reflex test with a physician.
As the moment of death comes nearer, breathing usually slows down and becomes irregular. It might stop and then start again or there might be long pauses or stops between breaths . This is known as Cheyne-Stokes breathing. This can last for a short time or long time before breathing finally stops.
Agonal breathing or agonal gasps are the last reflexes of the dying brain. They are generally viewed as a sign of death, and can happen after the heart has stopped beating.
In the dying process, the symphony of swallowing becomes a cacophony of weak and mistimed movements. Sometimes the tongue propels saliva backward before the epiglottis has time to cover the airway. Other times, the tongue fails to push at all and saliva trickles down the airway to the lungs in a steady stream.
A gurgling sound that comes from the back of the throat of a dying person. It is caused by the build-up of saliva and mucus in the throat and upper airways when the person is too weak to cough.