biomed quiz 10/27 study

autopsy

a systematic examination of the entire body following death

an autopsy is used to discover

how and why a person died

cause

the specific injury, trauma, or disease that directly caused the death

mechanism

what happens inside the body to result in death

manner

whether the death is natural or unnatural (accident, homocide, suicide, or undetermined)

how long does an average autopsy take

4 hours

endocrine system

controls body with hormones

integumentary system

skin, hair, sweat, etc which provides protection and cools the body

lymphatic system

maintains body fluid levels in tissues

skeletal system

gives the body shape and allows it to move

physiological time of death

when the vital functions stopped

estimated time of death

the time that is estimated that the death occurred

legal time of death

what is recorded on the death certificate

rigor mortis

muscles stiffen

livor mortis

blood pools to gravitational pull

decomposition

when the body changes color, bloats, swells, or smells

physical digestion

the physical act of breaking down food into smaller parts, like chewing

chemical digestion

chemically breaking down food into smaller molecules

large intestine function

reabsorbs water and creates waste

small intestine function

breaks down food molecules and absorbs digested nutrients

presumptive tests

quick tests that indicate if a type of substance is present but can't specifically identify a substance