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Rates of Putrefaction of Dental Pulp in the Northwest Coast Environment

NCJ Number
132524
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1991) Pages: 1492-1502
Author(s)
J B Duffy; M F Skinner; J D Waterfield
Date Published
1991
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Data are provided on putrefaction rates in human and pig dental pulp nuclei deposited in surface and subsurface environments in coastal British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract
Human and pig extracted teeth and unextracted pig teeth samples were deposited in Vancouver, either on the ground surface or in the subsurface at a 30-centimeter depth. Seasonal variation data were obtained by depositing the samples at winter and summer times during 1987 and 1988. The results show there was no difference in the putrefaction rates between the extracted human and extracted pig pulps and the unextracted pig pulps. The seven experiments show that in this northwest coast outdoor environment in both summer and winter, the stability of dental pulp nuclei ranges from 4 days to 2 weeks. The experiments describe the morphological sequence observed in nuclear putrefaction. 7 figures, 2 tables, and 17 references (Author abstract modified)

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