[Age-dependent changes in the intestinal contents of blowfly maggots--a study method in the framework of forensic determination of the time of death].

Maggots of the forensically important blowfly species Calliphora vicina were reared under three different temperature conditions. They were fed food containing insoluable contrast medium. Subsequent radiological examinations proved that the maggots stopped eating immediately upon attaining their maximum length. During the course of their subsequent development, the anterior intestine always remains empty. The evaluation of intestinal filling in blowfly maggots represents an efficient method of determining larval age in establishing time of death.