Death Investigations test 1

What is brain death

When there is no spontaneous movement or breathing and being unresponsive to external stimuli

What is a persistent vegetative state?

patient can open their eyes, grimace, swallow, and breathe on their own

What does medicolegal refer to?

Medical and legal professions

2 professions for medicolegal field are...

Coroner and Medical Examiner

What is the requirement to be a coroner?

high school degree or equivalent, a political/elected position

What is the requirement to be a ME?

9 years of medical school, have a doctor of medicine degree and be licensed to practice medicine, be eligible for certification by the american board of pathology, have at least 1 year of medico-legal training or one year active experience in a scientific field in which legal or judicial procedures are involved

What is the Georgia death investigations act?

describes how death investigation needs to be conducted in the state of ga- mainly says that you have to report certain deaths to the corner- anything suspicious, accidents, overdose, death of a child, anyone in government custody, sudden unexplained death All reported to the ME.

What is the next kin of hierarchy?

1. Spouse

2. Adult Children

3. Parents

4. Adult Siblings

5. Grandparents

6. Legal Guardians

What is cause of death

Disease, condition or injury that resulted in or directly contributed to death (examples- gunshot wound, blunt force trauma)

what is mechanism of death?

Actual physiological condition or process that causes immediate death (examples: exsanguination (bleeding to death), sepsis (infection))

What is manner of death?

how the death came about, a judgement based on the totality of the investigation

what are the 5 manners of death?

homicide, suicide, accidental, natural, undetermined

What does a death certificate entail?

the date, location, cause and manner of a death

What is the primary death scene?

where the activity leading to death occurred

what is the secondary crime scene?

any other locations containing evidence related to the death at the primary scene

Who does the crime scene belong to?

police

who does the body belong to?

medical examiner

What is geographical jurisdiction?

the action that gave rise to the dispute occurred within the geographical territory of the court

What are universal precautions?

approach to blood and bodily fluids as if they were known to contain an infectuous disease or blood-born pathogen

what is PPE?

Personal Protective Equipment (gowns, gloves, mask)

what is photographing the crime scene?

start from outside and work way in. 3 shots are overall, mid range, and close up

What is videioing the crime scene?

done to give jurors a walkthrough of the scene, disable audio recording, use one continuous shot

what is the purpose of sketching?

shows relationship of evidence items to each other and within the scene

what is the purpose of taking measurements?

allows for recreation of the scene at a later point

what are the methods of measuring the crime scene?

baseline, triangulation, rectangular coordinate

What is a dead person called?

a decadent

What are the 3 positions?

prone (face down), supine(face up), recumbent (on their side)

T/F: most deaths are homicide related

False, most deaths are natural

What happens with coronary artery disease?

Stenosis (chronic narrowing of arteries)- Thrombus (clot blocking an artery)- Ischemia (lack of oxygen to heart)- Myocardial Infarct (heart attack, heart muscle damaged)- Arrhythmias (irregular beating of heart, ventricular can be fatal)

What is a dissection?

Rupture of vessel. In major vessels like the aorta, leads to sudden death from exsanguination

What is an aneurysm?

Bulging of artery wall from structural weakening

What is an embolism?

blockage in a vessel that originated in some other part of the body and travelled to the blockage location.

what happens with a pulmonary embolism?

Blood cannot flow from heart to lungs to become re-oxygenated. Often fatal if not recognized and treated quickly

which natural death occurs in the central nervous system?

intracerebal hemorrhage (stroke most common)

What is pneumonia?

inflammation of the lungs

what is anaphylaxis?

allergic reaction to a substance introduced to the body, can be fatal if reaction is severe and no treatment is obtained, respiratory difficulty (in severe cases), shock (low blood pressure decreasing oxygen delivered to the body)