Utilization of oral flora fluctuation to estimate the time of death during the early postmortem period

dc.contributor.author	Todd, Kelly E.
dc.date.accessioned	2025-08-21T01:54:38Z
dc.date.available	2025-08-21T01:54:38Z
dc.date.issued	2007
dc.description.abstract	Time of death estimation has long since been a challenge for forensic investigators. This original study was designed to investigate a new way to estimate the time of death: time-dependent oral flora fluctuation. In this study, ten severed hog heads were sampled once premortem, and postmortem every hour for twenty four hours. Three experimental hypotheses were tested in this study: one, that oral flora will fluctuate after death; two, that the bacteria found can be identified; and three, that the fluctuation can be applied to a time line. Colonies were counted and statistically analyzed and identified based on results from 6 standard microbiological tests. Based on the tests conducted, the fluctuation in oral flora was found to be significant for 2 of 20 found colonies, the bacteria could not be specifically identified, and the data for the 2 significant colonies were applied to a mathematical equation to determine time.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11803/4589
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.institution	National University (NU)
dc.subject	Forensic sciences
dc.title	Utilization of oral flora fluctuation to estimate the time of death during the early postmortem period
dc.type	Thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Forensic Sciences
thesis.degree.grantor	National University (NU)
thesis.degree.level	Masters