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chapter 4 Flashcards

1
Q

what’s the most important piece of evidence in a case involving death?

A

victim

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2
Q

what 3 jobs are involved in performing an autopsy/determining death situations

A

pathologist
anthropologist
entomologist

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3
Q

forensic pathologist duties

A

investigate the cause, manner, and time of death
conduct autopsies

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4
Q

who does most of the cutting/weighing of organs in an autopsy?

A

assistant

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5
Q

2 types of forensic pathologists

A

coroner
medical examiner

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6
Q

what’s the difference between a coroner and a medical examiner?

A

coroner: elected
medical examiner: have medical degrees, appointed to their position

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7
Q

critical phase of scene investigation

A

preliminary reconstruction of events that preceded the onset of death

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8
Q

autopsy definition

A

medical dissection and examination of a body post-mortem

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9
Q

when are autopsies performed

A

unexpected/unnatural deaths or by request of the family

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10
Q

forensic autopsy is performed by a

A

medical examiner

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11
Q

forensic autopsy purpose

A

to aid in criminal investigation

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12
Q

do forensic autopsies require family consent?

A

no

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13
Q

when are forensic autopsies performed

A

sudden, violent, unexplained deaths

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14
Q

who are medical autopsies performed by

A

medical examiners

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15
Q

medical autopsies purpose

A

determines extent of disease or effects of therapy (if applicable)

looks for undiagnosed disease

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16
Q

do medical autopsies require family consent

A

yes

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17
Q

what percentage of deaths get a medical autopsy?

A

less than 12%

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18
Q

external autopsy

A

overview of body condition

classifies injuries (blunt force trauma, ligature marks)

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19
Q

internal autopsy

A

y-shaped incision starting at shoulders to pubic bone
takes samples to send to tox

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20
Q

manner of death

A

relates to circumstances that led to death

culmination of complete investigation
determines cause of death

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21
Q

5 categories of manner of death

A

natural causes
homicide
suicide
accidental
undetermined

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22
Q

is the manner or cause of death reported on the death certificate?

A

manner

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23
Q

cause of death

A

reason a person died (blunt force trauma, sharp force injuries, asphyxia)

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24
Q

blunt force trauma

A

caused by non-sharp injuries

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25
sharp force injuries
injuries from weapons with sharp edges
26
asphyxia
anything that interferes with Oxygen intake
27
rigor mortis
stiffening of muscles after death
28
what muscles does rigor mortis affect first?
small muscles
29
rigor mortis max stiffness
12-24 hrs post mortem
30
how long are joints stiff? what happens after
1-3 days post mortem releases ions
31
what is rigor mortis affected by?
temp, weight, activity level
32
autolysis
breaking down of cells
33
how do muscles contract?
myosin and actin lock in the help of calcium muscles remain contracted until ATP (which requires oxygen to be made) attaches to myosin ATP pumps calcium out of cell
34
how do muscles start to break down after death?
when enzymes leak out
35
why do muscles stay contracted after death?
when there is no ATP at death
36
livor mortis
settling of blood in areas of the body closest to the ground
37
what force allows livor mortis to happen
gravity
38
when does livor mortis start
20-30 min post mortem
39
when does the color from livor mortis fully develop
12 hrs after death
40
when does the color from livor mortis go away
never
41
what does livor mortis determine
position of victim when they died
42
algor mortis
cooling of body after death
43
when will the body stop cooling after death?
when it reaches room temp
44
when does algor mortis begin
about 1 hour after death
45
formula for determining time of death
1st 12 hours: (98.6 - (body temp))/1.4 after 12 hours: (98.6 - (body temp) -16.8)/.7 add 12 to the answer to get total number of hours
46
where is body temperature obtained from after death?
rectum or liver
47
outside factors that can influence algor mortis
weather/temp location size of body clothing
48
vitreous humor
fluid behind eye
49
do potassium levels increase or decrease after death?
increase
50
what is the purpose of using fluid from the vitreous humor to determine time of death?
fluid is less susceptible to contamination because it is secluded from other parts of the body
51
why are stomach contents analyzed in an autopsy?
food breaks down at a predictable rate
52
how long can human remains last?
decades
53
how is gender determined in an autopsy?
size and shape of skull and pelvis
54
what can bone remains determine?
gender age race height physical injuries (sometimes)
55
forensic anthropologist
identifies and examines human skeletal remains
56
what happens when bones are found?
treated as a crime scene secured and thoroughly searched locate all scattered bones identify footwear impressions or discarded items all evidence is documented and collected
57
bone characteristics
cartilage before bone osteoblasts deposit materials or minerals into center of cartilage and harden it bones constantly produced and broken down
58
how many bones to babies have
450
59
how many bones do adults have? how
206, they fuse
60
bones get _ and _ with age and use
longer, thicker
61
when do you stop growing?
when cartilage growth plate fuses
62
male pelvic characteristics
narrow pelvic opening small pelvic outlet long, narrow, forward sacrum close ilia V-shaped subpubic angle: less than 90
63
female pelvic characteristics
wide, circular pelvic opening large pelvic outlet short, wide, backward sacrum spread ilia U-shaped subpubic angle: greater than 90
64
male skull characteristics
large mandible at right angle large mastoid process pronounced brow bone square chin vertical forehead
65
female skull characteristics
medium obtuse mandible smaller mastoid process diminished brow bone rounded chin receding forehead
66
why is it difficult to determine race of bones?
mixed races
67
European eye orbits shape
oval
68
European nasal arpeture shape
long, narrow
69
European incisors shape
smooth
70
european cranium frontal plane shape
flat
71
Asian eye orbits shape
circular
72
Asian nasal arpeture shape
small, rounded
73
Asian incisors shape
shoveled interior
74
Asian cranium frontal plane shape
flat or projected outward
75
African eye orbits shape
square
76
African nasal arpeture shape
wide
77
African incisors shape
smooth
78
African cranium plane shape
projected outward
79
where does the most accurate determinations of age come from?
teeth epiphyses (growth plates) fusion cranial sutures
80
what age range is the most difficult to determine from bones?
25-40
81
what happens to bones after age 40
significant wear and tear on bones
82
when do elbow bones fuse
ages 9-13
83
when do pelvic bones fuse
ages 20-25
84
when does the lambdoid suture fuse
starts at 21, ends at 30
85
when does the sagittal suture fuse
age 35
86
when does the coronal suture fuse
starts at 48 ends at 50
87
entomology
study of insects and their relation to criminal investigation helps determine time of death through insects reproduction cycles
88
post mortem interval (PMI)
determined by the oldest stage of the fly
89
what is the most common insect investigated in entomology? when does it arrive
blowfly 24 hrs after death
90
factors that affect body decomposition
temp depth of burial access by insects (develops in predictable stages), arrives to corpse like clockwork
91
stage 1 of decomposition
fresh/initial decay - 0-3 days after death - inside body: autolysis by bacteria and digestive enzymes - outside body: flies attracted, lays eggs near wounds and natural body openings
92
stage 2 of decomposition
bloat/putrefaction - 4-10 days after death - inside: swelling from gas buildup from bacteria - outside: flies and maggots feed in large quantities
93
stage 3 of decomposition
decay/black putrefaction: - 10-20 days after death - inside: skin breaks, gases and fluids leak out, anything exposed turns black - outside: very large maggots, horrible odor, skin slippage, hair loss
94
stage 4 of decomposition
post-decay - 20-50 days after death - inside: mostly hair, skin, and bones - outside: beetles eat skin and ligaments
95
stage 5 of decomposition
dry and skeletal: - 50-365 days after death - inside: only bones - outside: moths eat hair
96
anterior
in front of
97
posterior
in the back of
98
superior
toward the upper portion of the body
99
inferior
toward the lower portion of the body
100
lateral
away from the middle of the body
101
medial
toward the middle of the body
102
proximal
toward/nearest the trunk/point of origin of a body part
103
distal
away/farthest from the trunk/point of origin of a body part

forensics (10 decks)

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