The Chemistry of Death

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Course director

Number of hours/semester

lectures: 12 hours

practices: 0 hours

seminars: 0 hours

total of: 12 hours

Subject data

  • Code of subject: OAF-HAK-T
  • 1 kredit
  • General Medicine
  • Optional modul
  • autumn
Prerequisites:

-

Course headcount limitations

min. 5 – max. 50

Topic

Death is not an unaltering state, and far from being an inert mass, the dead body is, under normal circumstances, subject to many complex and, often enough, only partly investigated changes arising from intrinsic as well as extrinsic causes which bring about quite substantial chemical and morphological alterations of the tissues.

Under natural conditions an initially intact body commences to decompose immediately after death, the aim of this course is the integration of these decomposition processes into medical and chemical, biochemical sciences.

Topics:

- Introduction to toxicology

- Enzymatic reactions

- The last minutes of life

- Postmortem changes in general

- Postmortem enzymal changes

- Postmortem non-enzymal chemical changes

- Postmortem chemical changes (short term)

- Postmortem chemical changes (long term)

- Special chemical processes, mummification

- Pathological observations

- Traumatic changes

- Forensic and paleoanthropological methods

- Dating methods

Lectures

  • 1. Introduction. Basics of toxicology - Márk László
  • 2. Introduction to biochemistry and enzymatic alterations. - Márk László
  • 3. Chemical processes of the last few minutes of the life. - Márk László
  • 4. Chemical processes of the last few minutes of the life. - Márk László
  • 5. General postmortem changes. - Márk László
  • 6. General postmortem changes. - Márk László
  • 7. Short term postmortem changes. - Márk László
  • 8. Chemical alterations of the first hours. - Márk László
  • 9. Decomposition processes. - Márk László
  • 10. Decomposition processes. - Márk László
  • 11. Special chemical modifications, mummification. - Márk László
  • 12. Pathological and traumatic investigations. - Márk László

Practices

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

Lecture slides and notes.

Notes

Recommended literature

Evans: The Chemistry of Death, 1963

Stein: Physical Anthropology, 1976

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

Written exam. Max. absences: 20%.

Mid-term exams

Not possible.

Making up for missed classes

Not possible.

Exam topics/questions

Introduction to toxicology

Enzymatic reactions

The last minutes of life

Postmortem changes in general

Postmortem enzymal changes

Postmortem non-enzymal chemical changes

Postmortem chemical changes (short term)

Postmortem chemical changes (long term)

Special chemical processes, mummification

Pathological observations

Traumatic changes

Forensic and paleoanthropological methods

Dating methods

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars