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forensics > chapter 4 > Flashcards

chapter 4 Flashcards

1
Q

what’s the most important piece of evidence in a case involving death?

A

victim

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2
Q

what 3 jobs are involved in performing an autopsy/determining death situations

A

pathologist
anthropologist
entomologist

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3
Q

forensic pathologist duties

A

investigate the cause, manner, and time of death
conduct autopsies

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4
Q

who does most of the cutting/weighing of organs in an autopsy?

A

assistant

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5
Q

2 types of forensic pathologists

A

coroner
medical examiner

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6
Q

what’s the difference between a coroner and a medical examiner?

A

coroner: elected
medical examiner: have medical degrees, appointed to their position

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7
Q

critical phase of scene investigation

A

preliminary reconstruction of events that preceded the onset of death

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8
Q

autopsy definition

A

medical dissection and examination of a body post-mortem

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9
Q

when are autopsies performed

A

unexpected/unnatural deaths or by request of the family

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10
Q

forensic autopsy is performed by a

A

medical examiner

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11
Q

forensic autopsy purpose

A

to aid in criminal investigation

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12
Q

do forensic autopsies require family consent?

A

no

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13
Q

when are forensic autopsies performed

A

sudden, violent, unexplained deaths

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14
Q

who are medical autopsies performed by

A

medical examiners

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15
Q

medical autopsies purpose

A

determines extent of disease or effects of therapy (if applicable)

looks for undiagnosed disease

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16
Q

do medical autopsies require family consent

A

yes

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17
Q

what percentage of deaths get a medical autopsy?

A

less than 12%

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18
Q

external autopsy

A

overview of body condition

classifies injuries (blunt force trauma, ligature marks)

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19
Q

internal autopsy

A

y-shaped incision starting at shoulders to pubic bone
takes samples to send to tox

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20
Q

manner of death

A

relates to circumstances that led to death

culmination of complete investigation
determines cause of death

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21
Q

5 categories of manner of death

A

natural causes
homicide
suicide
accidental
undetermined

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22
Q

is the manner or cause of death reported on the death certificate?

A

manner

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23
Q

cause of death

A

reason a person died (blunt force trauma, sharp force injuries, asphyxia)

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24
Q

blunt force trauma

A

caused by non-sharp injuries

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25
Q

sharp force injuries

A

injuries from weapons with sharp edges

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26
Q

asphyxia

A

anything that interferes with Oxygen intake

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27
Q

rigor mortis

A

stiffening of muscles after death

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28
Q

what muscles does rigor mortis affect first?

A

small muscles

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29
Q

rigor mortis max stiffness

A

12-24 hrs post mortem

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30
Q

how long are joints stiff? what happens after

A

1-3 days post mortem
releases ions

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31
Q

what is rigor mortis affected by?

A

temp, weight, activity level

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32
Q

autolysis

A

breaking down of cells

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33
Q

how do muscles contract?

A

myosin and actin lock in the help of calcium
muscles remain contracted until ATP (which requires oxygen to be made) attaches to myosin
ATP pumps calcium out of cell

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34
Q

how do muscles start to break down after death?

A

when enzymes leak out

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35
Q

why do muscles stay contracted after death?

A

when there is no ATP at death

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36
Q

livor mortis

A

settling of blood in areas of the body closest to the ground

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37
Q

what force allows livor mortis to happen

A

gravity

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38
Q

when does livor mortis start

A

20-30 min post mortem

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39
Q

when does the color from livor mortis fully develop

A

12 hrs after death

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40
Q

when does the color from livor mortis go away

A

never

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41
Q

what does livor mortis determine

A

position of victim when they died

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42
Q

algor mortis

A

cooling of body after death

43
Q

when will the body stop cooling after death?

A

when it reaches room temp

44
Q

when does algor mortis begin

A

about 1 hour after death

45
Q

formula for determining time of death

A

1st 12 hours: (98.6 - (body temp))/1.4

after 12 hours: (98.6 - (body temp) -16.8)/.7
add 12 to the answer to get total number of hours

46
Q

where is body temperature obtained from after death?

A

rectum or liver

47
Q

outside factors that can influence algor mortis

A

weather/temp
location
size of body
clothing

48
Q

vitreous humor

A

fluid behind eye

49
Q

do potassium levels increase or decrease after death?

A

increase

50
Q

what is the purpose of using fluid from the vitreous humor to determine time of death?

A

fluid is less susceptible to contamination because it is secluded from other parts of the body

51
Q

why are stomach contents analyzed in an autopsy?

A

food breaks down at a predictable rate

52
Q

how long can human remains last?

A

decades

53
Q

how is gender determined in an autopsy?

A

size and shape of skull and pelvis

54
Q

what can bone remains determine?

A

gender
age
race
height
physical injuries (sometimes)

55
Q

forensic anthropologist

A

identifies and examines human skeletal remains

56
Q

what happens when bones are found?

A

treated as a crime scene
secured and thoroughly searched
locate all scattered bones
identify footwear impressions or discarded items
all evidence is documented and collected

57
Q

bone characteristics

A

cartilage before bone
osteoblasts deposit materials or minerals into center of cartilage and harden it
bones constantly produced and broken down

58
Q

how many bones to babies have

A

450

59
Q

how many bones do adults have? how

A

206, they fuse

60
Q

bones get _ and _ with age and use

A

longer, thicker

61
Q

when do you stop growing?

A

when cartilage growth plate fuses

62
Q

male pelvic characteristics

A

narrow pelvic opening
small pelvic outlet
long, narrow, forward sacrum
close ilia
V-shaped
subpubic angle: less than 90

63
Q

female pelvic characteristics

A

wide, circular pelvic opening
large pelvic outlet
short, wide, backward sacrum
spread ilia
U-shaped
subpubic angle: greater than 90

64
Q

male skull characteristics

A

large
mandible at right angle
large mastoid process
pronounced brow bone
square chin
vertical forehead

65
Q

female skull characteristics

A

medium
obtuse mandible
smaller mastoid process
diminished brow bone
rounded chin
receding forehead

66
Q

why is it difficult to determine race of bones?

A

mixed races

67
Q

European eye orbits shape

A

oval

68
Q

European nasal arpeture shape

A

long, narrow

69
Q

European incisors shape

A

smooth

70
Q

european cranium frontal plane shape

A

flat

71
Q

Asian eye orbits shape

A

circular

72
Q

Asian nasal arpeture shape

A

small, rounded

73
Q

Asian incisors shape

A

shoveled interior

74
Q

Asian cranium frontal plane shape

A

flat or projected outward

75
Q

African eye orbits shape

A

square

76
Q

African nasal arpeture shape

A

wide

77
Q

African incisors shape

A

smooth

78
Q

African cranium plane shape

A

projected outward

79
Q

where does the most accurate determinations of age come from?

A

teeth
epiphyses (growth plates) fusion
cranial sutures

80
Q

what age range is the most difficult to determine from bones?

A

25-40

81
Q

what happens to bones after age 40

A

significant wear and tear on bones

82
Q

when do elbow bones fuse

A

ages 9-13

83
Q

when do pelvic bones fuse

A

ages 20-25

84
Q

when does the lambdoid suture fuse

A

starts at 21, ends at 30

85
Q

when does the sagittal suture fuse

A

age 35

86
Q

when does the coronal suture fuse

A

starts at 48
ends at 50

87
Q

entomology

A

study of insects and their relation to criminal investigation
helps determine time of death through insects reproduction cycles

88
Q

post mortem interval (PMI)

A

determined by the oldest stage of the fly

89
Q

what is the most common insect investigated in entomology? when does it arrive

A

blowfly
24 hrs after death

90
Q

factors that affect body decomposition

A

temp
depth of burial
access by insects (develops in predictable stages), arrives to corpse like clockwork

91
Q

stage 1 of decomposition

A

fresh/initial decay
- 0-3 days after death
- inside body: autolysis by bacteria and digestive enzymes
- outside body: flies attracted, lays eggs near wounds and natural body openings

92
Q

stage 2 of decomposition

A

bloat/putrefaction
- 4-10 days after death
- inside: swelling from gas buildup from bacteria
- outside: flies and maggots feed in large quantities

93
Q

stage 3 of decomposition

A

decay/black putrefaction:
- 10-20 days after death
- inside: skin breaks, gases and fluids leak out, anything exposed turns black
- outside: very large maggots, horrible odor, skin slippage, hair loss

94
Q

stage 4 of decomposition

A

post-decay
- 20-50 days after death
- inside: mostly hair, skin, and bones
- outside: beetles eat skin and ligaments

95
Q

stage 5 of decomposition

A

dry and skeletal:
- 50-365 days after death
- inside: only bones
- outside: moths eat hair

96
Q

anterior

A

in front of

97
Q

posterior

A

in the back of

98
Q

superior

A

toward the upper portion of the body

99
Q

inferior

A

toward the lower portion of the body

100
Q

lateral

A

away from the middle of the body

101
Q

medial

A

toward the middle of the body

102
Q

proximal

A

toward/nearest the trunk/point of origin of a body part

103
Q

distal

A

away/farthest from the trunk/point of origin of a body part

forensics (6 decks)

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