Ch. 12 Forensics Death: Manner, Mechanism, Cause

Establishing a PMI

the time between death and body discovery, has great forensic importance

manner of death

one of 5 ways in which a person's death is classified

terms for the manner of death include:

natural death, accidental death, suicidal death, homicidal death, undetermined

cause of death

the reason someone dies

proximate cause of death

refers to an underlying cause of death as opposed to the final cause

mechanism of death

the specific change in the body that brought about the cessation of life

massive trauma (cause)

to the body leads to respiratory arrest (mechanism)

stoppage

heart and brain

autolysis

or cell self-destruction

algor mortis

cooling of the body following death

the body cools at the rate of ______

.78C (1.4F) per hour

livor mortis

the pooling of the blood in tissues after that results in a red skin color

lividity

the reddish-purple color, it is the effect of gravity on blood

between __ to ___ hours, present but color disappears when skin is pressesd

2-8

dual lividity

found on 2 different areas-indicates body was moved

rigor mortis

means death stifness

2-6 hours

rigor begins

36-48

rigor absent

factors affecting rigor mortis

temp, activity before death, body mass

autopsy

a medical examination to determine the cause and manner of death

clinical autopsies

done for medical research study purposes and foul play isnt considered

hands are examined for _______ residue and fingernails for ______ samples

gunshot, tissue

internal examination

y-shaped incision

typical autopsy takes __ hours

6

within __to__ hours, the stomach empties its content into the small intestine

2,6

withing ___ more hours, the food leaves the small intestine

12

putrefaction (stages of decomposition)

identification of soft tissues

adipocere

greasy wax for fat breakdown

PMI estimate

...

body feels warm and is flaccid

3 hours

body feels warm and is stiff

3-8 hours

body feels cold and is stiff

8-36 hours

body feels cold and is flaccid

36 hours