Adipocere - Literally translated as "fat wax" from the Latin adipo, "fat," and cera, "wax," it is more commonly referred to as corpse, grave, or mortuary wax. In Cemetery Stories, Katherine Ramsland dubs it 'body cheese,' and many refer to it as soap, which, by definition of the process through which it forms, it is. In a process known as saponification, fat tissues and lipids in conducive states and environments are converted into a mixture of saturated fatty acids that, when freshly formed has a soft, wet, paste-like appearance and, particularly in a waterlogged environment, a strong smell of ammonia that is detectable by cadaver dogs (Forbes 2008), and may sweeten over time. Older adipocere becomes dry and brittle with a soapy white, gray, or brown appearance.
Adipocere, particularly when its formation is simultaneous to mummification, can result in an extremely decomposition-resistant corpse, which can often, though not always, prove helpful to detectives and forensic scientists. Over at The Hinky Meter, blogger Valhall provides an outstanding in-depth look at adipocere and its relevance (or often, its lack thereof) in the area of DNA evidence as related to the adipoceric matter found on paper towels in the Caylee Anthony murder case. A plethora of other cases have found value in the preserving qualities of adipocere, allowing for cause of death and other evidence (i.e. stomach contents, etc.) to be obtained long after a body has expired. These same qualities make such specimens invaluable to students and research scientists, as was tragically shown in the case of John and William Higgins of Scotland, two young brothers murdered in 1911, discovered in their adipoceric state in 1913, and literally pieced out among researchers until a distant relative demanded their cremation in 2009.
Though not well understood, adipocere will eventually decay itself, particularly if exposed to aerobic environments or gram positive bacteria such as Bacillus, Cellulomonas, and Nocardia (Forbes 2008). In places such as Germany, cemetery crowding has many looking for ways to expedite the decomposition process.
See also: Saponification
References (by relevance)
Tibbett, Mark, David O. Carter, eds. Soil Analysis in Forensic Taphonomy: Chemical & Biological Effects of Buried Human Remains (Free preview available at Google Books.
Boddington, A., A.N. Garland, R. C. Janaway, eds. Death, Decay, and Reconstruction: Approaches to Archeology & Forensic Science (Free preview available at Google Books.
Saponification - The hydrolysis and hydrogenation of subcutaneous and other forms of fat into soap or adipocere. The method of corpse decomposition is determined by a variety of biological and environmental conditions. Ample fatty tissues containing sufficient moisture and bacteria in moist, anaerobic, mildly alkaline environments often undergo the process of saponification, in which our triglycerides are converted to free fatty acids, neutral fats liquefy and diffuse into surrounding tissues, and unsaturated fatty acids are converted to saturated by bacterial enzymes. Though the described conditions are ideal for the formation of adipocere, it is possible under a wide range of burial conditions, with the primary factors being anaerobic environment and sufficient moisture and bacteria content in the fatty acids (Forbes 2008).
Infants, women, and the obese tend to be subject to saponification more frequently than other groups due to their higher and wider distribution of fatty tissues and lipids. A rather morbid testament to this was found in the exhumation of a mass grave at a concentration camp, in which bodies at varying degrees of emaciation reflected relative presence of adipocere (Mant 1987). Though previously believed limited to the subcutaneous fats of the cheeks, breast, and butt, it has been learned that it can occur in any area in which these tissues and lipids are present, including internal organs, and that it can occur in areas of minimal fat content due to the process of fat liquification and subsequent translocation (Forbes 2008).
Though the nominal amount of oxygen in coffins and caskets provide for a "nurturing" environment in which saponification can thrive, adipocere does tend to form more readily on bodies buried directly in the soil, such as in the mass graves of war and epidemic. Clothes, perhaps because they limit the amount of air reaching the covered area, also have varying effects on the process. The formation of adipocere through the extraction of internal tissue moisture continues until exposed to an aerobic environment or an adipocere-decomposing bacteria (i.e. Bacillus, Cellulomonas, Nocardia), or until dessication and mummification takes place (Forbes 2008). Often times, mummification will take place simultaneously to saponification, creating an extremely decomposition-resistant corpse.
See also: Adipocere
References (by relevance)
Tibbett, Mark, David O. Carter, eds. Soil Analysis in Forensic Taphonomy: Chemical & Biological Effects of Buried Human Remains (Free preview available at Google Books.
Boddington, A., A.N. Garland, R. C. Janaway, eds. Death, Decay, and Reconstruction: Approaches to Archeology & Forensic Science (Free preview available at Google Books.
Taphophile - Directly referring to a "lover of tombstones," more broadly referring to one with an affinity to, excessive interest in, or morbid obsession with graves, cemeteries, funerals, and related rituals and traditions. See taphophilia.
Taphophilia - The Rakefet Dictionary translates the Greek taphos as "a tomb; in ancient Greece, the mystical tomb or sarcophagus placed in the crypt of initiation, sometimes called the adytum, and in which the neophyte lay during the trance preceding illumination. It was called a tomb because the person for the time being is "dead" - death and resurrection being involved in all ancient initiations." Directly referring to a "love of tombs," taphophilia more broadly refers to an affinity to, excessive interest in, or morbid obsession with graves, cemeteries, funerals, and related rituals and traditions.
