An Autopsy on the Man of the Shroud

by Robert Bucklin, M.D., J.D. Las Vegas, Nevada

Copyright 1997

For over 50 years as a Forensic Pathologist, I have been
actively involved with the investigation of deaths which
come under the jurisdiction of a coroner of Medical
Examiner. During that time, I have personally examined over
25,000 bodies by autopsy to determine the cause and manner
of death.

For most of that same period of time, I have had an abiding
interest in the study of the Shroud of Turin from a medical
view point. It seemed to be a natural decision for me to
integrate my two interests and to try to record the results
of what would have been done if the human body image on the
Shroud of Turin were to be examined by a modern day Medical
Examiner's office.

The full body imprint, front and back, together with the
individual characteristics of blood stains on the cloth,
which represent specific types of injury, make it quite
feasible for an experienced forensic pathologist to approach
the examination of the Shroud image as would a medical
examiner performing an autopsy on a person who has died
under unnatural circumstances. It is the aim of this
presentation to replicate such an autopsy examination using
the image on the Shroud to delineate traumatic findings and
to interpret the cause and the results of those injuries, as
well as to present the most reasonable and probable cause
for the death of the individual whose image is present on
the Shroud of Turin.

The first step in such an examination is to document
physical features of the victim as accurately as possible.
In the case of the image on the Shroud, it can be stated
that the deceased person is and adult male measuring 71
inches from crown to heel and weighing an estimated 175
pounds. The body structure is anatomically normal,
representing a well-developed and well-nourished individual
with clearly identifiable head, trunk, and extremities. The
body appears to be in a state of rigor mortis which is
evidenced by an overall stiffness as well as specific
alterations in the appearance of the lower extremities from
the posterior aspect. The imprint of the right calf is much
more distinct than that of the left indicating that at the
time of death the left leg was rotated in such a way that
the sole of the left foot rested on the ventral surface of
the right foot with resultant slight flexion of the left
knee. That position was maintained after rigor mortis had
developed.

After an overall inspection and description of the body
image, the pathologist continues his examination in a
sequential fashion beginning with the head and progressing
to the feet. He will note that the deceased had long hair,
which on the posterior image appears to be fashioned into a
pigtail or braid type configuration. There also is a short
beard which is forked in the middle. In the frontal view, a
ring of puncture tracks is noted to involve the scalp. One
of these has the configuration of a letter "3". Blood has
issued from these punctures into the hair and onto the skin
of the forehead. The dorsal view shows that the puncture
wounds extend around the occipital portion of the scalp in
the manner of a crown. The direction of the blood flow, both
anterior and posterior, is downward. In the midline of the
forehead is a square imprint giving the appearance of an
object resting on the skin. There is a distinct abrasion at
the tip of the nose and the right cheek is distinctly
swollen as compared with the left cheek. Both eyes appear to
be closed, but on very close inspection, rounded foreign
objects can be noted on the imprint in the area of the right
and left eyes.

Upon examining the chest, the pathologist notes a large
blood stain over the right pectoral area Close examination
shows a variance in intensity of the stain consistent with
the presence of two types of fluid, one comprised of blood,
and the other resembling water. There is distinct evidence
of a gravitational effect on this stain with the blood
flowing downward and without spatter of other evidence of
the projectile activity which would be expected from blood
issuing from a functional arterial source. This wound has
all the characteristics of a postmortem type flow of blood
from a body cavity or from an organ such as the heart. At
the upper plane of the wound is an ovoid skin defect which
is characteristic of a penetrating track produced by a sharp
puncturing instrument.

There seems to be an increase in the anteroposterior
diameter of the chest due to bilateral expansion.

The abdomen is flat, and the right and left arms are crossed
over the mid and lower abdomen. The genitalia cannot be
identified.

By examination of the arms, forearms, wrists, and hands, the
pathologist notes that the left hand overlies the right
wrist On the left wrist area is a distinct puncture-type
injury which has two projecting rivulets derived from a
central source and separated by about a 10 degree angle. As
it appears in the image, the rivulets extend in a horizontal
direction. The pathologist realizes that this blood flow
could not have happened with the arms in the position as he
sees them during his examination, and he must reconstruct
the position of the arms in such a way as to place them
where they would have to be to account for gravity in the
direction of the blood flow. His calculations to that effect
would indicate that the arms would have to be outstretched
upward at about a 65 degree angle with the horizontal. The
pathologist observes that there are blood flows which extend
in a direction from wrists toward elbows on the right and
left forearms. These flows can be readily accounted for my
the position of the arms which he has just determined.

As he examines the fingers, he notes that both the right and
left hands have left imprints of only four fingers. The
thumbs are not clearly obvious. This would suggest to the
pathologist that there has been some damage to a nerve which
would result in flexion of the thumb toward the palm.

As he examines the lower extremities, the medical examiner
derives most of his information from the posterior imprint
of the body. He notes that there is a reasonably clear
outline of the right foot made by the sole of that foot
having been covered with blood and leaving an imprint which
reflects the heal as well as the toes. The left foot imprint
is less clear and it is also noticeable that the left calf
imprint is unclear. This supports the opinion that the left
leg had been rotated and crossed over the right instep in
such a way that an incomplete foot print was formed. In the
center of the right foot imprint, a definite punctate defect
can be noted. This puncture is consistent with an object
having penetrated the structures of the feet, and from the
position of the feet the conclusion would be reasonable that
the same object penetrated both feet after the left foot had
been placed over the right.

As the back image is examined, it becomes quite clear that
there is a series of traumatic injuries which extend from
the shoulder areas to the lower portion of the back, the
buttocks, and the backs of the calves. These images are
bifid and appear to have been made by some type of object
applied as a whip, leaving dumbbell-shaped imprints in the
skin from which blood has issued. The direction of the
injuries is from lateral toward medial and downward
suggesting that the whip was applied by someone standing
behind the individual.

An interesting finding is noted over the shoulder blade area
on the right and left sides. This consists of an abrasion or
denuding of the skin surfaces, consistent with a heavy
object, like a beam. Resting over the shoulder blades and
producing a rubbing effect on the skin surfaces.

With this information available to him, the forensic
pathologist can come to a reasonable conclusion as to the
circumstances of death, including the posture of the
deceased at the time the injuries were incurred.
Chronologically, the whip like injuries to the back would
have occurred earlier than other injuries which the
pathologist has found. The individual would have been
upright and with his arms above his head at the time the
whipping occurred since no whip marks are found on the upper
extremities.

The position of the puncture defects in the wrist, coupled
with the blood flow towards the elbows, and also associated
with the punctures of the feet, permit the pathologist to
conclude that the victim was in an upright position with his
arms extended when the blood flow took place. A crucifixion
type posture would be the most plausible explanation for
these findings.

The wound in the right side, since is comprised of both
blood and non-blood components, suggests to the forensic
pathologist that the puncturing instrument released a watery
type fluid from the body cavities as well as blood from the
heart area. One potential consideration would be that there
was fluid in the chest cavity which was released by the
penetrating instrument and this was followed by blood
issuing from an area as the result of the heart being
perforated.

At this point, the pathologist has garnered much information
about the injuries to the body from a purely objective point
of view. As a knowledgeable and expertly trained forensic
pathologist he has the right and obligation to rely upon
available historical and other evidentiary information in
order to support or deny his impressions. He will avail
himself of other scientific testing, including radiological
studies and hematological and chemical testing of the
substances which he has found on the body. By these tests,
he will be able to confirm the presence of blood. He may
also make other observations based on microscopic and
genetic studies.

It is the ultimate responsibility of the medical examiner to
confirm by whatever means are available to him the identity
of the deceased, as well as to determine the manner of this
death. In the case of Man on the Shroud, the forensic
pathologist will have information relative to the
circumstances of death by crucifixion which he can support
by his anatomic findings. He will be aware that the
individual whose image is depicted on the cloth has
undergone puncture injuries to his wrists and feet, puncture
injuries to his head, multiple traumatic whip-like injuries
to his back and postmortem puncture injury to his chest area
which has released both blood and a water type of fluid.
From this data, it is not an unreasonable conclusion for the
forensic pathologist to determine that only one person
historically has undergone this sequence of events. That
person in Jesus Christ.

As far as the mechanism of death is concerned, a detailed
study of the Shroud imprint and the blood stains, coupled
with a basic understanding of the physical and physiological
changes in the body that take place during crucifixion,
suggests strongly that the decedent had undergone postural
asphyxia as the result of his position during the
crucifixion episode. There is also evidence of severe blood
loss from the skin wounds as well as fluid accumulation in
the chest cavities related to terminal cardio-respiratory
failure.

For the manner of death to be determined, a full
investigation of the circumstances of death is necessary. In
this case, it would be determined historically that the
individual was sentenced to death, and that the execution
was carried out by crucifixion. The manner of death would be
classed as judicial homicide.

In summary, I have presented a scenario, based on reasonable
medical probability, as to how a forensic pathologist
medical examiner would conduct an examination of the Shroud
of Turin image and the conclusions that he would reach as
the result of such studies.