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Forensic Medicine · Thanatology: algor mortis calculation
Sample itemA body is found in a closed room and the rectal temperature is recorded as 80.4 degrees F. The normal body temperature is taken as 98.4 degrees F, and the Glaister equation assumes a fall of 1.5 degrees F per hour. What is the approximate time since death?
Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.
The answer and the reasoning
A. 12 hours
Glaister's equation gives time since death in hours as (98.4 minus rectal temperature in degrees F) divided by 1.5. Here the fall is 98.4 minus 80.4, which is 18 degrees F, and 18 divided by 1.5 gives 12 hours. The result is only an estimate because room temperature, clothing and body build alter the cooling rate.
Option by option
A. 12 hours (correct)
Correct. 18 degrees F of cooling divided by 1.5 degrees F per hour gives 12 hours.
B. 18 hours
This is the temperature fall itself, with the division by 1.5 omitted.
C. 9 hours
This comes from dividing the fall by 2 instead of 1.5.
D. 27 hours
This results from multiplying the fall by 1.5 instead of dividing.
Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.
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