Dr. Kendall Crowns

So you could say, oh, that they breathe if the lungs float in water.

The problem with the flotation test-

That's correct.

Well, it depends on how old the baby is gestationally.

If they are newborn, their lungs are about

Well, a couple inches maybe.

Have you done a water test on a baby?

So when I'm doing an autopsy on a baby, it's no different than doing an autopsy on an adult.

I have to determine the cause and manner of death.

And it's just, it is what it is.

I have to figure out what happened to this child or happened to the adult.

And that's the purpose of my employment.

It's tap water and it's basically a big cup.

That's correct.

I mean, if they've taken a breath, the lungs will float, but it could also mean they were given CPR, but it could also mean there's decompositional gas formation.

So one of the other things you'll do with the flotation test is take the liver, take a section of the liver and place it in the water as well to see if it will float to show that there is or is not decomposition.

There would be no air in the liver.

So if the liver doesn't float, you know that there is no decomposition.

But if it does float, then it puts into question whether the lungs are floating because of decomposition or because there's air in them.

So then you have to go to microscopic analysis.