A partially mummified corpse with pink teeth and pink nails

Int J Legal Med. 1998;111(1):35-7. doi: 10.1007/s004140050108.

Abstract

A female corpse in a state of advanced decomposition and putrefaction with pink teeth and an equivalent discolouration of several fingernails was found by a group of hunters in a forest. A combination of trimipramin intoxication, hypothermia and pneumonia could be established as the cause of death. Autolysis or blood congestion can only favour the occurrence of a pink discoloration. Pink phenomena depend on special anatomical features such as the existence of porus structures protected by a dense material, which explains the occurrence of a pink discoloration in teeth and fingernails. The non-specificity of congestion, its genesis and reinforcement by exogeneous factors does not allow pink phenomena to be used as specific forensic evidence.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Forensic Dentistry
  • Hemoglobins / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Mummies*
  • Nails / pathology*
  • Postmortem Changes*
  • Tooth / pathology*

Substances

  • Hemoglobins