Editing Post-mortem interval (section)

{{short description|Time that has elapsed since a person has died}}
{{About|forensic science|Rosicrucian death practices|Rosicrucian Fellowship#Teachings}}
{{Signs of death}}
[[File:Postmortem interval changes (stages of death).png|thumb|500px|Timeline of postmortem changes.]]
[[File:Michele_Taylor_-_Forensics_Final_Project_(1).jpg|thumb|Figure 1. Post-mortem phenomena to estimate the time of death.]]
The '''post-mortem interval''' ('''PMI''') is the time that has elapsed since an individual's [[death]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Forensic entomology: the utility of arthropods in legal investigations |date=2009 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |editor=Jason H. Byrd |editor2=James L. Castner |isbn=978-0-8493-9215-3 |edition=2nd |location=Boca Raton |oclc=144565878}}</ref> When the time of death is not known, the interval may be estimated, and so an approximate time of death established. Postmortem interval estimations can range from hours, to days or even years depending on the type of evidence present.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |date=2013-10-08 |editor-last=Pokines |editor-first=James |editor2-last=Symes |editor2-first=Steven A. |title=Manual of Forensic Taphonomy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/b15424 |doi=10.1201/b15424|isbn=9781439878439 |s2cid=132436926 }}</ref> There are standard medical and scientific techniques supporting such an estimation.<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Simmons |first=Tal |title=Post-Mortem Interval Estimation: an Overview of Techniques |date=2017-02-10 |work=Taphonomy of Human Remains: Forensic Analysis of the Dead and the Depositional Environment |pages=134–142 |place=Chichester, UK |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |doi=10.1002/9781118953358.ch10|isbn=9781118953358 }}</ref>