Original Body Farm

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Makenna Vawter 4/21/2013 The Original Body Farm At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, there is an acre of land that is used for the decomposition of human bodies. It is referred to as the body farm and was founded in 1981 by Dr. Bill Bass, a professor of anthropology at the university. Before the creation of the body farm, knowledge on the decomposition of human bodies was very slim. This was a problem, because for jobs that required predicting the time of death. it was nearly impossible. (UT Knoxville) Dr. Bass first decided that he wanted to make a “body farm” when he was asked to estimate the post mortem interval of a humans remains. The methods he was using indicated that about one year had passed, because there was moist…show more content…
With the human immune system stopped forever, the digestive bacteria in the gut begin eating the body itself. As the host’s cells steadily self-destruct from autolysis, their membranes rupture, spilling the nutrient-rich cell filling into the tissues. The bacteria thrive in this river of food, and they soon establish decomposition at every extremity of the body. While all this is happening on the inside, on the outside there are hundreds of flies attracted to the scent from every direction. They lay eggs at every opening and soon the maggots are hatched and using the bodies fat as their meal. Over the next several days the brain will liquefy and leak from the ears and mouth, while blisters form on the skin, eventually turning into large, peeling sheets. Often the skin on the hands will come off in one piece. “Body Farm researchers have discovered that the skin can be soaked in warm water to restore its flexibility, and placed over a researcher’s hand for the purposes of fingerprint…show more content…
Leaving most of the body left to mold and beetles, but even after a couple months, when the flesh is almost nothing, forensic entomologists can interrogate the remaining maggots by extracting their juices, because most of the toxins linger in the fly larvae. Therefore investigators can detect the presence of any drugs, poisons, or other chemicals that may have entered the body. Additionally the victim’s race may be able to be determined depending on the amounts of melanin skin pigment in the soil. (decomposition, enotes) There are many factors that can cause variations in the outcome, but for the most part the decomposition of the bodies is based on a specific formula. After the bodies are finished decomposing in the body farm the skeletons are taken and are steam-cleaned where they are put in storage for the use of science once more.

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