Further Indications of Death
Immobility of a needle stuck in the pericardium; empti¬ness of the central artery of the retina; disappearance of the papilla of the optic nerve; discoloration of the choroid and retina; interruption of the circulation of the veins in the ret¬ina; emptiness of the capillary vessels; corpse-like face; dis¬coloration of the skin; loss of transparency of the hands; emptiness of the temporal artery; white and livid coloring at the points of the fingers; relaxation of the sphincters and the pupil; glazed eyes and haziness of the cornea; insensibility of the eye in regard to strong light; bending of the thumb to¬ward the palm of the hand; disappearance of the elasticity of the muscles; non-coagulability of the blood, absence of a humming noise in the auscultation of the finger-points; etc.
After death, a certain odor is often present (odor mortis); but this too, may be absent.
Rigor mortis is a sure sign, if you can be sure it is rigor mortis. But the body may be in a state of catalepsy, frozen stiff, etc. It is an uncertain test.