What are common causes of postmortem artifact in forensic pathology?

Postmortem artifacts are alterations that can occur in a body after death, which can complicate forensic examinations and interpretations. The handling of the body is a significant contributor to these artifacts, as improper techniques can lead to unintentional markings, bruises, or other alterations that mimic or obscure actual pathological conditions.

Decomposition changes, which begin almost immediately after death, can also create artifacts. For instance, the process of rigor mortis, livor mortis, and the activity of microorganisms can lead to changes in tissue appearance, coloration, and consistency. These postmortem changes are crucial for forensic pathologists to understand, as they need to distinguish between artifacts and true pathological findings to accurately determine cause and manner of death.

Other choices, like environmental factors or nutritional deficiencies, do not directly reflect the immediate causes of postmortem artifacts. They may influence the body’s condition prior to death but are not the primary sources of postmortem changes. Similarly, while infections present at the time of death might cause genuine pathological changes, they are not classified as causes of postmortem artifact since artifacts specifically relate to post-death changes rather than conditions that exist while the individual is still alive.