Forensic Chapter 5 Study Guide

Practice vocabulary flashcards covering the collection of autopsy evidence, external examinations, wound characteristics, post-mortem changes, and skeletal identification from the forensic lecture notes.

External examination

An autopsy stage entailing classifying injuries, an overview of clothing and the condition of the body, identifying the victim with specific features (such as tattoos, scars, and birthmarks), and recording hair color, weight, and height.

Cause of death

What exactly caused the death, such as a specific item or experience (e.g., blunt force injury, asphyxia).

Blunt force injury

An injury caused by a non-sharpened object that causes a contusion to arise from a tiny ruptured blood vessel beneath the skin.

Sharp force injury

An injury caused by a weapon with a sharp edge, such as a knife.

Stippling

Markings produced by gunpowder that can help identify the distance a weapon was fired from a target when characterizing a gunshot wound.

Manner of death

The classification of how death occurred, consisting of five categories: homicide, suicide, accidental, natural, and undetermined.

Homicide

A manner of death occurring when someone else is doing the killing.

Suicide

A manner of death occurring when the victim themselves chose to end their lives.

Algor mortis

The loss of heat in the body after death, typically at a rate of $1-1.5$ degrees per house until the body reaches environmental temperature.

Livor mortis

The settling of blood in areas of the body closest to the ground, which appears within $20$ minutes to $3$ hours and can last up to $16$ hours.

Rigor mortis

A chemical change immediately following death in which muscle shortens and causes the body to become stiff in the position it was left in; occurs within the first $24$ hours and lasts up to $36$ hours.

Ocular fluid potassium test

A method of estimating time of death based on the release and rise of vitreous potassium in the retina after death within the cell-sparse vitreous body.

Forensic entomology PMI

The determination of the post-mortem interval using insect evidence by evaluating the sequence of insect arrival, the presence and developmental stage of blowflies, eggs, and larvae, as well as environmental factors like climate and weather.

Pelvic bones (sex determination)

Skeletal markers used to determine sex, characterized by women having wider bones with a wider subpubic angle, whereas men have longer bones with a smaller subpubic angle.

Skull (sex determination)

Skeletal remains used for sex determination where female features are smaller and more curved, while male features are larger and more sharp.

What must be documented from the scene?

Blood spatter, blood flow patterns, tire marks, shoe prints, fingerprints, discarded evidence, weapons, casings, bullets.

How is the body dissected?

Remove all the internal organs through a Y-shaped incision from the shoulder down to the pubic bone.

When are the toxicological specimens taken? What are they?

During the internal examination; blood, stomach content, bile, and urine.

What is postmortem redistribution (PMR)?

The phenomenon where drugs or toxins move between body compartments after death, affecting the concentration found in biological samples.

Where is the ideal sight to take blood to avoid PMR?

Femoral Vein

What is Asphyxia (Cause of Death)?

A variety of conditions that involve interference with the intake of oxygen. (i.e. toxic gas, smoke, strangulation)

What do forensic pathologists routinely order in all autopsies?

Toxicology tests

What does a light size of meal suggest about time of death?

1-2 Hours

What does a medium size of meal suggest about time of death?

3-4 hours

What does heavy size of meal suggest about time of death?

4-6 hours

What is Forensic Anthropology

Concerned with the identification and examination of human skeletal remains.