Summary
Newton's law of cooling was used to analyze the fall in rectal temperature post mortem in 55 cases during refrigeration in a mortuary. As with solids of low thermal conductivity, there was an initial curvilinearity to the semilog plot lasting 1 to 11 hours (related to pelvic circumference) while the proper internal temperature distribution was becoming established. Thereafter there was a linear trend representing a constant percent cooling rater 1 which lasted up to 24 hours for adults. This was followed by a less steep trend of cooling rater 2, which was 37% less thanr 1. This diminution in cooling rate occurred when the rectal temperature fell below 10°C and was ascribed to a reduction in the thermal diffusivity of fat.r 1 had the highest correlation with pelvic circumference. For the nude body in still airr 1=15.6% to 18.4% (T r −T a )/hour for children, 3.8% to 9.4% for adults. Wind increasedr 1; the decrease due to clothing was questionable because of the paucity of cases.
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G. W. Molnar, Ph. D., formerly at the U.S. Army Medical Research Laboratory, Ft. Knox, Ky.
H. J. Hurley, Jr., M. D., formerly Captain, M. C., U.S. Army Medical Research Laboratory, Ft. Knox, Ky.
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Molnar, G.W., Hurley, H.J. & Ford, R. Application of Newton's law to body cooling. Pflugers Arch. 311, 16–24 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00588059
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00588059