Pig cadavers

Holland, A. D. (2000). An investigation into the effect of soft tissue decomposition on short-term degradation of associated textiles, using pig cadavers as an analogue for human remains. Unpublished M.Sc. Dissertation, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK. 

Figure 2.1 Pig (Sus scrofa L.) cadaver in the bloated (a) and advanced decay (b) stage of decomposition on the soil surface of a pasture near Mead, Nebraska. Cadavers were 8 weeks old and approximately 40 kg at the time of death. Cadavers were placed on the soil surface within 30 minutes of death. Arrow indicates location and direction of maggot migration. (See color insert following p. 178.)...

Figure 2.4 Putative postputrefaction fungi (Coprinus sp.) in association with a pig (Sus scrofa L.) cadaver in the advanced decay stage of decomposition 28 days after death.

A series of experiments were set up in West Yorkshire, U.K., to test the relationships among the decomposition of buried hair, textiles, metal, and cadavers (pig) under a range of conditions relevant to regional depositional environments (Holland 2000 Wilson et al. 2007). Replicated cadaver and control graves (i.e., graves with experimental materials but without cadavers) were dug and exhumed after 6,12, and 24 months. Three experimental sites were used pasture, moorland, and woodland. These were chosen to complement each other in terms of altitude, soils, and drainage (Wilson 2002). 

The majority of experimental studies in this field have used pig carcasses as models for human decomposition. However, one study has been reported that used human cadavers in an experimental capacity (Rodriguez and Bass 1985). The study conducted in Knoxville, Tennessee, involved the burial of six unembalmed human cadavers at varying depths and subsequent exhumation at varying intervals. Carrion insect activity was only observed on the bodies buried at a depth of approximately 30 cm (1 ft.). The insects were identified as larvae, pupae, and adults of the family Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. It was speculated that the adult flies laid their eggs in the small crevices in the soils above the remains and that the larvae then burrowed to the cadaver where further development ensued. The study was able to demonstrate that the depth at which the cadaver was buried directly affected access by carrion insects and subsequently the rate of decomposition. 

While Galen s work helped Greek philosophy to survive, Galen may also have retarded the development of medicine in Europe. Cultural restrictions on the dissection of human cadavers meant that some of his observations were extrapolated from animals such as pigs and monkeys. Galen s errors, such as his belief that there were passages in the septum of the heart, were accepted as true until the sixteenth century. 

The most effective experimental surrogate for impact biomechanics research is the unembalmed cadaver. This is also true for the head and neck, despite the fact that the cadaver is devoid of muscle tone because the duration of impact is usually too short for the muscles to respond adequately. It is true, however, that muscle pretensioning in the neck may have to be added under certain circumstances. Similarly, for the brain, the cadaveric brain cannot develop DAI, and the mechanical properties of brain change rapidly after death. If the pathophysiology of the central nervous system is to be studied, the ideal surrogate is an animal brain. Currently, the rat is frequently used as the animal of choice and there is some work in progress using the mini-pig. 

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