In bodies lying in the air, external putrefaction begins with a greenish coloration of the abdominal coverings, in from twenty-four to seventy-two hours after death, according to the modifying conditions just noticed. (In bodies lying in water, the process of putrefaction begins in the face, head as far as the ears, and the upper part of the neck, with a livid, bluish tinge, rapidly becoming a brick-red, and proceeds downwards in the same relative manner as about to be described.) Within the same period, the eye-ball becomes soft, yielding to the pressure of the finger. After three to five days from the period of death, the discoloration has spread over the whole abdomen and external genitals, and spots make their appearance on other parts. In from eight to ten days the discoloration has spread over the whole body, and the peculiar odor is developed. The abdomen is distended with gas; the cornea has fallen in and become concave. The nails are still firm. In fourteen to twenty days after death, the whole body is of a bright-green, mixed with red and brown. The epidermis is raised here and there in blisters, and in other parts patches of it are quite stripped off. Maggots cover the body. From the continued development of gas, the whole body is bloated, and has a gigantic appearance. The nails are detached at their roots and lie loose, and are easily separable. The hair is loose and easily pulled out. Since this stage may continue many weeks or even months, we cannot distinguish a body in this state after one month, from one in the same condition after from three to five months. After from four to six months, or sooner in the case of bodies that have lain in warm and moist media, the cavities of the body are opened by the continued development of gas; the skull has separated from the neck, and the brain has run out; the orbital cavities are empty; all the soft parts have commenced to break down into a soft pulp, or are partly already broken down and dissolved, leaving entire bones exposed. The bones of the extremities are often separated by the destruction of the fasciæ and ligaments. No trace of a physiognomy is discernible. The doubtful sex of the deceased can only be determined from the external peculiarities of form, or the hair about the pubis, or by the presence of a uterus, which withstands decomposition longer than any other soft organ of the body.