Stiff Corpse

Tanatology

Then he started his class. After his words, we all became eager to listen to the knowledge he would share. Today, the course is Tanatology.

Tanatology is the study of death, and any changes that occur before and after death. The purpose of this science is that we, doctors, can ensure death, estimate the length of death occurs, and estimate the cause of death. Just estimate the cause of death, not confirm it. According to him, general practitioners like us will not be able to determine the cause of death. Determination of death is still done with the Autopsy of the Body, and only forensic specialists may perform.

If you die, the first time your heart will stop beating. This causes the blood circulation to stop completely. Your organs will die one by one, but you have not died completely. Your lungs will stop breathing. Your gut starts to stop digesting, and your entire nerves go numb, until your brain stops functioning. That way, your body will be declared clinically dead (Somatic Death) by a doctor, because all life support organs have stopped functioning.

20-30 minutes after you are completely dead, the blood that stops flowing begins to come out of the blood vessels, down into the nearby skin following the body's gravity. So, the skin - at the bottom of the body following the position of the body - will appear purplish blood spots called corpse bruises or Livor Mortis. Cadaver bruises will last 8-12 hours and then disappear slowly.

30-60 minutes after the body bruise appears will occur which is referred to as Algor Mortis. Your body temperature will drop below normal. This occurs due to the cessation of blood circulation and the cessation of brain work, which has been maintaining body temperature. Approximately two hundred bones in your body will conduct cold temperatures quickly. At this time your temperature is cold as iron.

2 Hours after you die, the muscles in your body will only completely run out of energy reserves, so that slowly the muscles will harden and stiff, or what is referred to as a stiff corpse or Rigor Mortis. The first muscle that is stiff is the eyelid. Therefore, every time someone dies, society will automatically close both eyes. If it is not closed immediately, the eyes will continue to open because the eyelid muscles are already stiff. Stiffness of a full corpse (all muscles are stiffened) will occur after 6 hours you die, and will last until 12 hours later, after which the muscles will relax back to then rot. And this phase of decay begins 24 hours after death, until finally the skin and organs of the corpse will be decomposed by bacteria, leaving the bones alone.

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Our forensic stase took just 1 month. During that time I have been guarding the night 15 times, and there have been many body visums that I do. From then on, I started not to be afraid of corpses. I refuse to be a coward. Although in my heart I still hate corpses, but thanks to his motivation, my corpse phobia gradually diminished. There are many valuable lessons and knowledge I can take from this Stase. Thank you doc, your advice will always be remembered.

That was my last stase as a young doctor. The creepy, scary stase, as well as the most memorable Stase. I hope that at my new job, I don't use your Forensics. Don't let me face off again with a corpse. I'm not afraid of corpses - I don't hate them anymore. At least that's what I really expected.