Forensic Doctor

Chapter 40: Taking out the Tongue

Penang City Police, Forensic Medicine Center.

Under the shadowless light, in order to conduct an autopsy today, Shen Junci specially applied for the largest autopsy room in the entire city police. Three autopsy tables were displayed side by side, and charred corpses were placed on each autopsy table.

The dark, charred corpses were unrecognizable and smelled of paste. Although it was not as shocking as the rotten corpse, it looked a bit scary.

From left to right are father, mother and daughter.

Shen Junci shuttled between the autopsy tables and said in a calm voice: "The daughter's body is the most critical, save it for last. Let's check the other two first."

They started with the first male corpse. Shen Junci faced the corpse and pressed the recorder to record: "Qiao Longfan, 49 years old, 1.74 meters tall. Except for the back and inner thighs, there is no skin on the body. In addition to being charred, the rest of the body was charred. The bones of the left foot were charred and incomplete. The skin of the calf and chest showed signs of cracks due to dryness, and there were also wounds left by the fire..."

Qi Yian also followed the inspection and found that the wounds on his body were easy to distinguish. Generally, the wounds left by fires were relatively shallow and the walls were not smooth and flat.

Shen Junci then observed the deceased's nasal cavity, then pried open the deceased's lips and took a look: "You can see some soot."

Qi Yian used a lighting tool to look at it: "Then it looks like it was probably burned to death?"

Whether there is soot and charcoal in the respiratory tract is an important basis for judging the cause of death. If the deceased was able to breathe before death, it is likely that he died in the fire. After death, only a small amount of soot will be stained on the mouth and nose of the corpse after death.

Shen Junci said cautiously: "Don't jump to conclusions."

He looked at the head of the deceased again: "The skull is fractured and the bone fragments are bulging radially. It should be caused by the expansion of intracranial air."

Bodies burned at high temperatures sometimes develop such scars.

Simply put, this is due to cranial pressure, which causes the head to explode from the inside.

The charred corpse formed a hard shell that was so difficult to cut that it was almost impossible to cut through it with a scalpel. The two people worked together and used various tools, including cutting and prying, to cut open the surface of the corpse.

After the examination, Shen Junci adjusted his gloves and said to Qi Yian: "Get ready to take out your tongue."

This "tongue removal" is a forensic term, which refers to removing the sternum, making an incision from the lower jaw, and taking out the tongue, epiglottis, larynx, esophagus, etc. A skilled forensic doctor can even remove a complete set of internal organs of the deceased.

After making preparations, Shen Jun said, "I'll demonstrate it first, and you can operate the mother's body later."

Then he adjusted his gloves and inserted his fingers accurately into the incision on the deceased's jaw. His fingertips touched his throat and made a soft squeaking sound.

Under the shadowless lamp, Shen Junci's delicate features looked focused.

Qi Yian saw his slender fingers move, as if he had pulled some mechanism. The corpse's throat bulged, and the tongue and epiglottis were exposed.

Shen Junci followed it down, seemingly with ease. A whole string of tongues was pulled down along with the respiratory tract, and all the internal organs were separated from the body one by one.