Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uflorida!novavax!rwright
From: rwright@novavax.UUCP (Ronald K. Wright)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: What is mechanism for bloating of bodies after death?
Keywords: death, bloating, floating
Message-ID: <1670@novavax.UUCP>
Date: 10 Dec 89 11:42:32 GMT
References: <4246@hydra.gatech.EDU>
Organization: Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Lines: 42

steve%revolver@gatech.edu writes:

>xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

>     A question has arisen on one or two other newsgroups recently whose
>answer may be provided here.  It involves the decomposition of a human
>body after death.

>     What is the mechanism which causes the bloating which is observed shortly
>after death?  I think it involves anaerobic bacteria, but why do these same
>bacteria not cause bloating when the person is alive.  What has changed after
>death (beyond the obvious) that was not happening when the person was alive.
>How is the rate of decomposition affected by temperature?  Please be as specific
>as you possibly can.

Bloating of the body is caused by anaerobic bacterial growth.
Generally, at around 25 degrees C it occurs on the third day after
death.  At 20 degrees on the fourth. At 0 degrees it never occurs.

The anaerobes are the ones which live in your gut (and mine).  In
life, our wonderful gut keeps them in.  Die and they migrate via the
blood to inhabit the entire body.  As they grow they release gasses
including methane, and some foul smelling guys called putricine and
cadavarine.

Temperature speeds up decomp.  In south Florida waters the summer
temperatures are 30-32 degrees.  At this temperature a body floats at
24 hours after death.  Floating is caused by the gas.

Disease, particularly sepsis speeds up decomp both from the terminal
fever which warms the body and also because the organisms causing the
sepsis are already out in the blood stream.  Stillborn babies never
bloat as they have sterile guts.  Folk who take tetracyclines or other
broad spectrum antibiotics bloat very very slowly as much of the
normal gut flora is killed.


-- 
R. K. Wright MD JD                     | office: uunet!medex2!medexam!rkw
Chief Medical Examiner, Broward County | nova:   novavax!rwright
Associate Professor Pathology          | home:   uunet!medex2!love1!rkw
University of Miami School of Medicine | fax:    305 765 5193