BIME: UN1) Forensic Science

accuracy

how close a measurement is to the true or accepted value

autopsy

a postmortem evaluation to determine cause of death

biomedical science

a professional field combining biology and medicine with a focus on health care

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

a kind of nucleic acid made of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases (GCAT). DNA is double-stranded and helical and functions in protein synthesis and as the genome of some viruses

forensic science

the application of scientific knowledge to resolve questions of civil and criminal law

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

a federal law that protect an individual’s privacy rights related to their personal medical information (enacted 1996)

livor mortis

pooling of the blood following death that causes a purplish red discoloration of the skin. It is also referred to as lividity

morgue

a place where deceased bodies are kept temporarily pending identification or release for burial or autopsy

rigor mortis

the stiffening of joints and muscles after death

trace evidence

tiny fragments of physical evidence

Algor Mortis

Change in body temperature after death