review sheet

Question 1

how far away can you smell a decomposing body?

Answer 1

30 yards

Question 2

how does the body farm get their bodies?

Answer 2

homeless, donations, unclaimed

Question 3

what is somatic death?

Answer 3

when ALL brain activity stops due to lack of oxygen

Question 4

Define the following and explain how they can be used to determine PMI: algor mortis, livor mortis, rigor mortis, appearance of the eyes, stomach contents

Answer 4

algor mortis: temperature (ambient temp, obesity, clothing, and humidity)
livor mortis: blueish/purpleish patches
rigor mortis: muscle stiffness (face and jaw)
appearance of the eyes: person died with their eyes open (cloudy)
stomach contents: if there is food found in stomach, they died prior to the 4-6hours.

Question 5

what factors can affect algor mortis?

Answer 5

temperature of the room/climate, if the body had been frozen

Question 6

what is autolysis?

Answer 6

destruction of cells by their own enzymes

Question 7

what is putrefaction?

Answer 7

an increase in insect activity, bloating due to gases, strong odors, and a release of fluids

Question 8

what are purge fluids?

Answer 8

the fluids leaked out of the body after bloating occurs

Question 9

what is butyric fermentation?

Answer 9

the fermenting of the exposed flesh and drying of tissue

Question 10

what is dry decay?

Answer 10

flesh is leathery and hard

Question 11

what is skeletonization?

Answer 11

bones have been completely exposed, as most soft tissue is gone

Question 12

what factors speed up decomposition?
what factors slow down decomposition?

Answer 12

speed up-heat, humidity, small body size, open wounds, exposed flesh, animal presence, insect activity.
slow down-cold temperatures, wind, large body size, uninjured wrapped body, burial, alkaline soil.

Question 13

what is adipocere?

Answer 13

a white waxy substance that converts fat to fatty acids

Question 14

how can bones tell you about a crime?
(green, bleached, dark/stained)

Answer 14

green=recent
bleached=they have been exposed to the sun
dark/stained=they were buried

Question 15

what can teeth tell you about a person?

Answer 15

age, economic status, (maybe identity)

Question 16

how can you determine gender from a skeleton?

Answer 16

pelvic bone/skeleton structure

Question 17

what is the epiphyseal union?

Answer 17

areas where the femur fuse with age

Question 18

in general, the highest concentrations of a toxin are found where in a body?

Answer 18

where the toxin entered the body

Question 19

what 2 drugs show up most frequently in toxicologist labs in the U.S.?

Answer 19

alcohol and cocaine

Question 20

be familiar with the answers to the questions on the Chapter 9 and 10 reader’s guide.

Question 21

what is an autopsy?
what is exhuming?

Answer 21

autopsy: a specialized surgical procedure used to determine the cause and manner of death. exhuming: when you dig up a grave to re-autopsy or re-examine the body

Question 22

what is a Y incision?

Answer 22

incision made during autopsy that runs from shoulder to shoulder and down to the pubic bone

Question 23

what is the rokitanksy method?
what is the Virchow Method?

Answer 23

rokitansky method- taking out all major organs in one “block”
virchow method-taking out all major organs one at a time

Question 24

be familiar with the autopsy terms given in the pickle lab.

Question 25

give the difference between and examples of the following: Manner of Death, Cause of Death, and Mechanism of Death.

Answer 25

manner of death: natural, accidental, suicide, homicide (undetermined) cause of death: gunshot, skull fracture, poisoning (disease, injury- that results in death) mechanism of death: physiological reason for death (exsanguination;bleeding out, heart failure)

Question 26

if the highest concentration of poison is in the GI tract or the liver, how was the person poisoned?

Answer 26

ingested

Question 27

if the highest concentration of poison is in the lungs, how was the person poisoned?

Answer 27

they breathed it in

Question 28

what technique uses a moving liquid to separate a substance into its components?

Answer 28

thin layer chromatography

Question 29

pH levels.

Answer 29

pH under 7= acid pH above 7=base

Question 30

there are two really good parts to look at to determine gender from a skeleton. what are they?

Answer 30

skull or pelvis

Question 31

an overdose of heroin is suspected as the cause of death. Why wouldn’t a toxicologist screen for heroin?

Answer 31

it is immediately metabolized to morphine. Screen for that.

Question 32

what technique involves getting antibodies to a specific drug from an animal and then using those antibodies to test if a substance is present in humans?

Answer 32

immunoassay

Question 33

distal

Answer 33

furthest away (hand)

Question 34

what organ is often used to take body temperature?

Answer 34

liver

Question 35

if I told you to look at the dorsal part of your body, where would you look?

Answer 35

your back

Question 36

what is the formula to calculate PMI using temperature?

Answer 36

(98.6 - liver temperature)/1.5 F

Question 37

a body is found. When taken, the body temperature is 85.1. Room temperature is 72. Approximately how long has this person been dead?

Answer 37

this person has been dead 9 hours.

Question 38

approximately how many hours does it take to empty your stomach of food?

Answer 38

4-6 hours

Question 39

list the following body parts in order of how food passes through the digestive system:

Answer 39

mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine

Question 40

what does it mean to say lividity is fixed?

Answer 40

the purplish color does not disappear when touched

Question 41

what type of vessel brings blood to the heart?

Answer 41

vein

Question 42

what would I find in your thoracic cavity?

Answer 42

heart and lungs

Question 43

what type of vessel takes blood away from the heart?

Answer 43

artery

Question 44

what would you test for to see if a person was alive before being burned in a fire?

Answer 44

look for CO levels in the lungs indicating that they breathed it in.

Question 45

a body is discovered. The face and jaw are not in rigor but the rest of the body is. Out of these choices, which gives the most likely time since death?

Answer 45

15-20 hours

Question 46

you find lividity on a person’s back. They are lying on their front. What does this mean?

Answer 46

body has been moved

Question 47

True or False: The amount of alcohol excreted in the breath is directly proportional to the amount in the blood.

Answer 47

true