On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 4:27 PM, Kenneth Barns <xxxxxx@gmail.com> wrote:

Quick-and-dirty answer from a doctor without formal pathology training ...

a) Almost certainly yes, for both time periods, depending on how long post-mortem the beheading occurred.
b) Only in the sense of "bled out in a couple of minutes", versus "bled to death over hours to days"; I don't think you could get more precision than that.

Of course, the limitation is the effort put in. If there is a common-sense explanation (the deceased was decapitated in a witnessed industrial accident), then it is highly unlikely that any autopsy would be actively looking for evidence that the beheading happened post-mortem. Heck, there may well not be a formal autopsy at all. (Autopsies nowadays are FAR less frequent than they used to be.)

Even quicker-and-dirtier answer from someone with NO formal training whatsoever . . .

I just finished listening to the Recorded Books rendition of "The Alienist" (the novel upon which the recent TV series was based) and I've also read several other semi-historical accounts from roughly the same period (particularly the Russel/Holmes novels of Laurie King). I agree with Kenneth in all particulars. Furthermore, if the incident were to happen in a major city (such as New York or London) and the victim was relatively important/wealthy, you would get something akin to a modern autopsy. Otherwise, you would probably get such only if the death attracted (for whatever reason) significant media attention.

Richard Aiken

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