Livor mortis

Livor mortis or postmortem lividity, one of the signs of death, is a settling of the blood in the lower (dependent) portion of the body, causing a purplish red discoloration of the skin. This discoloration does not occur in the areas of the body that are in contact with the ground or another object, as the capillaries are compressed.

External link

• [1]a link to CORPSE, a nonfiction science book for the general reader with excellent explanations of postmortem lividity, how it becomes "fixed," and how these and related phenomena can be used to estimate time since death.