Guest gary Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 I have spoke to a few people about the color of peoples eyes after death. It has been said by a few people that the eye color changes. One person said There eyes where Brown but when I saw them 2 hours after death they had turned blue why is this. The best half theorys I can come up with is the loss of Pigments and the draining of the small amount of blood in the eye. anther was that maybe if the eye had two tones the domenent color would remain? I am guessing of course. I would like it if anyone else has any information on this subject
fafalone Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Eye color is controlled by the presence of pigment, or the lack of it (there is no blue pigment, it's just an absense of any pigment). When you die, the body stops making it.
Guest gary Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 so does it matter that the eye 'lost its color' within 2 hours this is whats mainly bothering me. there is no blue pigment, it's just an absense of any pigment and I thought as much to this cos babys have no color when they or born, giving the appearence of blue eyes
PogoC7 Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Well, If someone always wanted to have beautiful blue eyes. Death is something to look forward too. Maybe someone can take a picture of you two hours after death and that picture can be the one people remember you by, with beautiful blue eyes. I wish my girlfriend had blue eyes.
Radical Edward Posted January 28, 2003 Posted January 28, 2003 Originally posted by PogoC7 Well, If someone always wanted to have beautiful blue eyes. Death is something to look forward too. Maybe someone can take a picture of you two hours after death and that picture can be the one people remember you by, with beautiful blue eyes. I wish my girlfriend had blue eyes. well if you don't mind her dead....
Glider Posted February 2, 2003 Posted February 2, 2003 The colour of the eye, as defined by the colour of the iris, doesn't change post-mortem. If a person has brown eyes, this is due to a higher concentration of melanin in the iris than a person with blues eyes (as Fafalone said). However, the colour of the iris is not dependent upon the continual production of melanin. When a person with brown eyes dies, the colour of the iris remains unaffected. The change in eye colour that you can see in the eyes of dead people is due to opacity of the cornea, aqueous humour and lense brought about by lack of oxygen. Once a person dies, they stop producing tears and blinking, and blood circulation ceases. The cornea must be moist in order that oxygen may be absorbed. So, the iris of the individual stays whatever colour it was. However, the pupils dilate on death and if you look into the (now very large) pupils a few hours after death, you will notice a distictive blue-white 'haze'. This is the change that people report. If you want an example, but want to avoid staring into the eyes of a dead person (which is not very pleasant), look at the eyes of a dead fish. The same thing happens there, and you will see the noticable blue-white colour in the pupil.
Piccolo Posted February 2, 2003 Posted February 2, 2003 Ok then why are newborns eyes blue, I mean they are producing oxygen right.
Glider Posted February 3, 2003 Posted February 3, 2003 In the case of neonates, it is the iris that lacks pigment. the pupils and lenses should be perfectly clear (i.e. black) very shortly after birth. Of all animals, human babies are the most underdeveloped at birth. For example, in premature cases the liver is not fully functional and they cannot metabolise bilirubin, so they appear jaundiced and have to be placed under UV lights, which breaks the bilirubin down in the skin. The same goes for the eyes. Neonate eyes are underdeveloped and It can take a little while for the eyes of newborns to acheive their true colour. The same can be apparent of their hair. A lot of babies that are born with hair, are born blonde. after a while, they produce sufficient melanin to acheive their true colour.
Glider Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 In this case, it is melanin, the pigment that colours eyes brown. Really, there are no such things as 'blue eyes', just eyes that are not brown. All shades of eye colour reflect a concentration of melanin. Brown = lots, green = less, hazel = even less, light blue = none.
wolfson Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 Everyone one is born with blue eyes, and while we are on about eyes after death, as I am doing a Forensic Science i learned that the most accurate way to determine time of death was to take a sample of fluid from the eye, and calculate the value of Potassium concentration Kv.
YT2095 Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 does that lack of blood or rather Oxygenated blood have an effect at all? and perhaps oxidations an decomposition of the cappiliaries play a part at all? I would imagine it would somehow, or a least a little bit.
fafalone Posted February 16, 2004 Posted February 16, 2004 Not really... the eyes are the only part of the human body that get their oxygen directly from the air rather than from blood that passes through the lungs.
Glider Posted February 16, 2004 Posted February 16, 2004 The retina is highly vascular, and the sclera is vacular, but the cornea (as Faf says) gets it oxygen from the air.
ydoaPs Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 off topic question: does eye color affect vision? the iris reflects light and absorbs some. does it change your vision?
Cap'n Refsmmat Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 No. The light goes through the pupil, not the iris.
Cap'n Refsmmat Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 what is the point of pigmentation of the iris? What's the point of hair color? Who knows?
ydoaPs Posted October 4, 2004 Posted October 4, 2004 i figured that since skin color has a function, eye color might also.
john5746 Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 Could it just be a by-product of skin color? Seems like fair skinned people have lighter hair and lighter eye color.
rocketman Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 i have heard that eye color does affect vision... for example, why do athletes smear that black stuff under their eyes? to reduce light glare. i think that the pigment may have the same effect. The point is that what i heard was dark colored eyes may be able to see better than lighter colored eyes due to the reduced glare. I dont know how true this is and I will have to suspend judgement on this one.
ydoaPs Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 i have heard that eye color does affect vision... for example, why do athletes smear that black stuff under their eyes? to reduce light glare. i think that the pigment may have the same effect. The point is that what i heard was dark colored eyes may be able to see better than lighter colored eyes due to the reduced glare. I dont know how true this is and I will have to suspend judgement on this one. that is basically what i meant with my first question
Glider Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 Dark irises absorb light as opposed to reflecting it. This reduces glare in bright sunlight.
Luminol Posted October 5, 2004 Posted October 5, 2004 The cornea of the eye dries out after death becoming a milky or hazy color about 8-10 hours after death. Maybe thats why brown eyes may look more bluish in color. Postmortem changes to the eyes are a very good indicator of death along with the milky color, the responsiveness to light, touch and pressure are also a good indicator of death.
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