The Presumptive Sings of Death include cessation of respiration, cessation of heartbeat, changes in the eyes, and cooling of the body. Positive signs of death indicate that death has occurred. This includes postmortem lividity, postmortem rigidity, instantaneous rigor, postmortem decomposition, and insect invasion. All of these signs of death can help you determine time, cause, and manor of death.

Cessation of respiration is the apparent lack of breathing. In certain types of death like electrocution and drowning, the victim may not be breathing but life may still exist. To determine if breathing is occurring, watch movements of the chest and abdomen. You can also hold a mirror over the mouth or nose too see if the victim is breathing. If breathing is absent, other signs of death should be looked for.

Cessation of heartbeat is the absence of the heart beating. A person qualified using a stethoscope can only determine it. The doctor can't always detect a weak heartbeat so feel for the pulse or lay a hand

Postmortem rigidity or rigor mortis, is the stiffening of the body. The stiffening of the body is caused by chemical changes in the muscle tissue. "Rigor mortis normally starts in the head and neck and progresses down the body in an orderly fashion." This helps determine the time of death because at first when the body dies it is still limp it takes some time for rigor mortis to set in. "Time of death could be estimated at approximately 29-34 hours previous."

Postmortem decomposition, there are many ways for a body to decompose but the most common is a process called putrefaction. Putrefaction is when the skin starts to peal off the body; "bacteria breaking down the body's tissues" cause it. The time that it takes for this process depends on the "temperature, clothing, size of the body, ground conditions. The first sing of putrefaction is a greenish discoloration of the skin, "appearing in 24-72 hours of death." This process will go much faster is the body is in very hot conditions.

The positive signs of death indicate that death has occurred. Postmortem lividity is livor mortis. This is the result of the blood settlin

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sings Death, signs death, death occurred, cause manor death, cause manor, , positive signs death, positive signs, indicate death, cooling body, instantaneous rigor, rigor mortis, manor death, determine death, signs death indicate, death indicate death, rigor postmortem decomposition,
Approximate Word count = 763
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)