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Minimum Postmortem Interval (minPMI)

Definition

The earliest point at which death could have occurred, as calculated from insect evidence. The word minimum matters because unknown delays in colonisation mean insect clocks underestimate rather than overestimate the true PMI.

Related terms

Accumulated Degree Hours/days (ADH/ADD)
A temperature-corrected measure of thermal energy available for insect development, calculated by summing the degrees above a species-specific base temperature over time....
Carrion Succession
The predictable, roughly sequential replacement of insect communities on a decomposing body, driven by changing chemical substrate. Not a strict relay with...
Entomotoxicology
The analysis of insect tissue for drugs and toxins when decomposition has made conventional biological fluids unavailable. Blow-fly larvae feeding on a...
Forensic Entomology
The application of insect biology to legal investigations, most commonly using the developmental stage and species of insects colonising human remains to...
Postmortem Interval (PMI)
The elapsed time since death. Entomological PMI estimation uses the developmental stage and known growth rates of insects colonising the body to...

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