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Putrefaction is the fifth stage of death, following pallor mortis, livor mortis, algor mortis, and rigor mortis.This process references the breaking down of a body of an animal post-mortem.
Putrefying bacteria produce a plethora of enzymes which aid in disintegration of the body. Because of the lack of immune function within the body, these bacteria spread through blood vessels and utilize the carbohydrates and proteins in the blood as an energy source. [3] The main bacterial species carrying out putrefaction is Cl. welchii. [8]
The human body is composed of approximately: 64% water, 20% protein, 10% fat, 1% carbohydrate, 5% minerals. [1] The decomposition of soft tissue is characterized by the breakdown of these macromolecules, and thus a large proportion of the decomposition products should reflect the amount of protein and fat content initially present in the body. [4]
Adipocere was first described by Sir Thomas Browne in his discourse Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial (1658): [3]. In a Hydropicall body ten years buried in a Church-yard, we met with a fat concretion, where the nitre of the Earth, and the salt and lixivious liquor of the body, had coagulated large lumps of fat, into the consistence of the hardest castile-soap: wherof part remaineth with us.
Autolysis and putrefaction are the main processes responsible for the decomposition of remains. [ 1 ] In the healing of wounds, autolytic debridement can be a helpful process, where the body breaks down and liquifies dead tissue so that it can be washed or carried away.
The first signs of putrefaction are usually the discolorations of the body which can vary between shades of green, blue, red or black depending on 1) where the color changes are observed and 2) how far along within the decomposition process the observation is made. This phenomenon is known as marbling.
The contemplation of the nine stages of a decaying corpse is a Buddhist meditational practice in which the practitioner imagines or observes the gradual decomposition of a dead body. Along with paṭikūlamanasikāra , this type of meditation is one of the two meditations on "the foul" or "unattractive" ( aśubha ).
As the local religion of Buddhism, in the case of Tibet, believes that the body after death is only an empty shell, there are more practical ways than burial of disposing of a body, such as leaving it for animals to consume. In some fishing or marine communities, mourners may put the body into the water, in what is known as burial at sea.