Carla Valentine

Carla Valentine Instagram – Hmmm, I wonder if I can get the phrase “Steve the Beef” into a post? Yes I can indeed! Read on…
Adipocere: This gentleman is from the Forensic Collection at the Pathology Museum, dated around 1960s/70s and was discovered in the septic tank of a housing estate. The pathologist/police posited that perhaps he was the murder victim of a London gang rivalling The Krays. A reason for that theory is his teeth were purposely knocked out, thereby making ID very difficult – typical gang MO. This is a dry skull but it’s preserved as what we call a ‘wet specimen’ in Kaiserling fluid as it has adipocere clinging to it. Adipocere – which literally translates into ‘fatty wax’ from the Greek ‘adipose’ meaning fat and ‘cera’ meaning wax – is a “soapy, waxy” substance which occurs in the deceased when the fat or adipose tissue of the body undergoes a process called ‘saponification’. That process litterally means ‘to turn into soap’, although you wouldn’t want to wash with it! I’d call it ‘caseous’ really, which means ‘cheesy’) Just as an aside, the actor Micheal Cera translated is Michael Wax, in the same way that Shia LaBeouf can be translated as “Steve the Beef” 😂 Anyway, this process usually happens if there is a high moisture content in the environment during decomposition, and can be useful to forensic investigators as it can preserve the tissue underneath. On a more serious note, and very sadly, it happens to dead babies frequently because they have a higher fat. #adipocere #forensics #forensicscience #pathology #pathologymuseum #anatomy #anatomicalmuseum #anatomymuseum #histmed #wetspecimen #conservation #pottedspecimen #michaelcera #shialabeouf | Posted on 18/Jan/2024 13:02:03