L2.3 Pathology

What are the four goals of death investigation?

The four goals of death investigation are cause of death, manner of death, mechanism of death, and estimated time elapsed since death.

Fill out the chart.

MANNER of Death	Description	Identifying Factor
Natural	Death caused by the shutting of body organs (organ failure)	Victim has medical record of chronic diseases
Accidental	Death caused by accidents that the victims were not aware of	No evidence indicating the involvement of an offender
Suicidal	Victim intentionally committed suicide	Self-caused lethal injuries, injection/consumption of toxins, self-caused halt of respiration
Homicidal	Death caused by the intentional killing of an offender	Most of the time offenders are unorganized and evidence can be easily determined

Match each mechanism of death to its description.

Cessation of body organs	Organ failure
hemorrhage	Rupture of blood vessels and accumulation of blood
Infection/Septicemia	Inflammatory response and organ failure
Asphyxia	Insufficient oxygen in blood
Hypothermia	Excessively low body temperature
Exsanguination	Acute loss of blood from wounds
Hyperthermia	Excessively high body temperature

What are the three processes that are used to estimate time of death? Briefly explain each one.

Temperature shows how colder temperatures inhibit rigor whereas water temperatures accelerate rigor. The activity before death reveals that aerobic exercise accelerates rigor through the lack of oxygen to muscle, and sleep shows muscles are fully oxygenated and will exhibit rigor slower. Body weight also affects rigor mortis, fat better storing oxygen in obese people slowing rigor, and thinner people having accelerated rigor as the body loses oxygen quickly.

What are the four types of traumatic deaths? Briefly explain each one.

Mechanical - any injuries resulting from physical impact; can be blunt or sharp
Thermal - injuries caused by extreme temperatures (hot/cold) or thermal energy
Electrical - injuries caused by interactions with electrical current
Chemical - injuries resulted from exposure to hazardous and toxic substances

Provide a description for each type of wound.

Incision	Clean straight cut made by a sharp edged object. Wound typically smooth and well-defined
Laceration	A jagged or irregular-shaped wound caused by tearing or stretching of the skin and underlying tissues. Larger than incisions
Amputation	The complete removal or total separation of a body part or limb from the rest of the body
Abrasion	Superficial wound caused by rubbing or scraping of the skin against a rough surface
Puncture	A deep wound caused by penetration of the skin
Avulsion	A portion of the body being forcibly torn can be tissue or bone
Contusion	Blunt force resulted into ruptures of blood vessels, a bruise that appears as discoloration on the skin, often accompanied by swelling and tenderness.