Abstract:
In the forensic assessment of burned bodies, the question of whether the victim was exposed to the
fire before of after death is of crucial importance. Several external signs have been used in the past to indicate
heat exposure prior to the death of the victim but these did not include tongue protrusion. The internal signs of
heat exposure are generally regarded as much more important than those observed externally. No one factor has
been found to be totally reliable. This study found a statistically significant dependence between tongue
protrusion and presence soot in the respiratory tract and stomach, the later being a good indicator of vital
burning. The results of this study confirm that tongue protrusion can be used as an additional indicator of vital
burning.
