Protrusion of the tongue in burned bodies as a vital sign?

Excerpt

Bernitz et al. published a paper on the protrusion of the tongue in burned bodies and were of the opinion that this was an indicator of vital burning [1]. The authors reported that in 63 of 107 fire fatalities, protrusion of the tongue was observed, whereas in 27 cases, this phenomenon was not seen. The authors compared this parameter with the presence of soot deposits in the respiratory tract and an elevated CO-Hb content in the corpse blood—the characteristic parameters of vitality. They found that in the vast majority of the cases with protrusion of the tongue, soot aspiration and CO-Hb values >10 % were also present. According to the authors, subsequently performed statistical tests (Fisher’s exact test, Mann–Whitney test, Kolgorov–Smirnov test) confirmed that protrusion of the tongue was a sign of vitality. …