cadaveric spasms occur from what
after death
agonal respirations occur if brainstem is still in tact after someone is thought to be dead or braindead
-also can have a heartbeat
what is livor mortis
once the heart stops beating blood collects in the most dependent parts of the body
rigor mortis
body stiffening
term for the body when it begins to cool after it has been in rigor mortis
algor mortis
body temp: warm
body stiffness: not stiff
time since death?
dead not more than 3 hours
body temp cold
body stiffness stiff
time since death
dead 8-36 hours
body temp warm
body stiffness
time since death?
dead 3-8 hours
body temp cold
body stiffness not stiff (why)
time since death
dead more than 36 hours
secondary flacidity
putrefactive decomposotion
bodies decompose rapidly and do more at higher temp
initiated by endogenous gut microflora
morphologic feature of putrefactive decomposotion
green patch in right lower quad of abdomen
- highest amount of bacteria here
- foul smell from bacteria trying to turn body to gas
adipocere formation decomposition when bodies are found where
in water
mummification occurs in what environments
extremely hot and dry environments
what is a bog body
naturally perserved body
what age gropu has the highest incidence of homocide
15-34 men
lacerations mainly occur from
blunt force
what is cardiorespiratory arrest
COD or description of being dead
description of being dead
cause of death vs mechanism of death
cause of deat is anything that leads to the mechanism of death
COD vs mechanism of death in lethal injection
COD = lethal injection
mechanism of death is acute congestive heart failure
manner of death
natural accident suicide homocide undetermined
3 typical types of wounds produced by blunt force
abrasion
contusion
laceration
soft tissue bridges in depths of the wound are characterisitc of what
laceration due to blunt force
what is inversely related to W in the wounding formula
area of application of force
period of energy transfer time
contusion definition
bruise and results from hemorrhage into soft tissue due to rupture of subcutaneous blood vessels by blunt force injury
epidermis in a contusion
it is intact and so there is not external bleeding
where is a contusion seen
upon skin or within deep viscera
where in the body would a contusion injury be most severe
in tissue overlying hard bony structures bc it is more easily bruised
____ is the most significant color and its presence indicates that the bruise is @ ____ hours or older
yellow
18
blue purple and brown do or do not assist in dating bruises
do not
what is an abrasion
wound in which primarily the epidermis is injured
how are abrasions produced
by friction scraping away epidermis or crushing of epidermis by direct pressure or a bow tangential to the surface
-no profuse bleeding, just oozing
3 types of abrasions
brush abrasion
impact abrasion
patterned abrasion
describe a brush abrasion
produced by grazing or sliding motions
applied force is tangential to body surface
rolls or heaps of tissue at margin of wound opposite direction of force
impact abrasion (describe)
abrasions on bony prominences
happens in unconscious people when they fall
patterned abrasion can be from
tire tread, steering whell
double edged blade gives what shape on skin
eliptical
single edge blade gives what shape on skin
triangle
if someone is stabbed over and over what is the relation of victim and killer
personal relationship often a homosexual one
Gary and Brandon
when are hesitation marks apparent on vitims
when a person who has never killed before bc they didnt know how deep to cut attemps murder
what is most important in the amount of damage done in a gunshot wound
the velocity of the bullet more than the size of the bullet
the higher velocity, the bigger exit wound
intermediate gunshot wound
can see powdered stipling or tattooing
few inches away to a foot
in contact gunshot wound
you can see the barrell of the gun on the skin
not common in homocide
mainly suicide
in entry wounds the outer table of the skull is and the inner is
outer = typically sharply circumscribed
inner is table beveled
in exit skull GSW
opposite of entry wound
do skull fractures ramify across previous fracture lines
no, they stop rather than cross them
macro level the scene
safeguarding (live people first then scene)
surveying
documenting
proper approach to specien retrieval
SS donkey punch
micro level the scene
biologic materials retrieval and transmittal vs inorganic speciments.substances