Vital Sign of Burn
Definition
A finding that indicates the victim was alive at the time of burning: line of erythema, blister with proteinaceous fluid, soot in the airway, raised carboxy-haemoglobin. Distinguishes ante-mortem from post-mortem burning.
- Category
- Ante-mortem burn indicator
- Examples
- Erythema line, proteinaceous blister fluid, airway soot, raised carboxyhaemoglobin
- Purpose
- Separates burns sustained while alive from post-mortem burning
- Discipline
- Forensic pathology, fire death investigation
Common questions
Why does a blister's fluid matter more than its presence?+
Both living and freshly dead tissue can blister from heat, but only a living circulation produces the protein-rich fluid seen in an ante-mortem blister. A post-mortem heat blister typically contains little or no protein, so fluid analysis, not blister presence alone, is the discriminator.
Is a single vital sign enough to conclude the person was alive during the fire?+
Pathologists generally look for more than one sign together, such as airway soot combined with elevated carboxyhaemoglobin, because any single finding can be equivocal or absent depending on how quickly death occurred relative to the fire.
Related terms
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- Hesitation Marks
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- Joule Burn (Electric Mark)
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- Lichtenberg Figure
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- Marshall's Triad
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