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Legal Medicine > Death > Flashcards

Death Flashcards

1
Q

A written or oral statement of a person who is dying as a result of some unlawful act, relating to the material facts of cause of his death or bearing on the circumstances

Honored by the court, exception to nonadmissibility of heresay

A

Dying declaration

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2
Q

Wish of someone about to die usually in the hospital not because of unlawful act

A

Death bed wish

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3
Q

Person not heard from for seven years

A

Presumption of death

7 he is probably in heaven

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4
Q

Person not heard from a 75 year old is presumed death after not hearing from him after

A

5 years

For property, money, inheritance

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5
Q

Deliberate and painless acceleration of death of a person suffering from incurable distressing disease

Terminal or incurable disease

A

Euthanasia

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6
Q

If a doctor assists in performing euthanasia what is the doctor guilty of?

A

Criminal liability
Guilt beyond reasonable doubt

Murder

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7
Q

Patient is allowed to die without treatment

A

Orthonasia

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8
Q

AND form

A

Allow natural death

DNR form

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9
Q

Despite signing of DNR

the goal is still for the patient to

A

be free from pain
receive vital basic life essentials
IV fluids and nutrition

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10
Q

52/M
GCS 3
Married
3 children (17, 12, 5)

Who will sign consent form?

A

Wife

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11
Q

52/M

living with mistress
2 children with mistress

Estranged with wife

Who will sign the consent form?

A

Wife

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12
Q

Consent

A

Spouse
Descendant if legal age >18
Ascendant parent, Father (if no legal age children)
Ascendant parent, Mother

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13
Q

There is an attempt to extend the lifespan with extraordinary treatment

A

Dysthanasia

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14
Q

Quantitative determination of the chloride content of the blood in the right and left ventricle

A

Gettler’s Test

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15
Q

For determination of time of death by examination of CSF

A

Schourups formula

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16
Q

Importance of Death Determination

A

Civil personality of a natural person is extinguished by death
Property of a person is transmitted to her heirs at the time of death
Death of a partner is one of the causes of dissolution of partnership agreement (Marriage agreement)
Death of either a principal or agent is a mode of extinguishment of agency
Criminal liability of a person is extinguished by death

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17
Q

Extrajudicial means of death

A

solis

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18
Q

The following may sign the death certificate

A

Attending physician
Municipal health officer if there is no physician
Municipal mayor if there is no health officer or physician
Municipal secretary - in the absence of the mayor
Any councilor

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19
Q

Bases of Estimate for Duration of Interment

A

Presence or abscence of soft tissues still adherent to the bones
Firmess and weight, brittleness, dryness of the bone
Degree of erosion of bone surface
Changes in clothings, coffin, painting

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20
Q

Interment cannot apply for

A

cremation

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21
Q

Removing someone from the ground and exhumating them

A

Disterment

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22
Q

Cessation of the function of 3 systems:

CVS
Respiratory system
CNS

A

Death

Organ Donation Act of 1991

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23
Q

Cells no longer functioning or have metabolic activities or aerobic respiration

Different tissues die at a different rate

A

Cellular death

Molecular death

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24
Q

Organ/tissue decomposition

A

Solis

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25
Q

Complete, persistent and continuous cessation of vital functions

The person is irreversibly unconscious not aware of surrounding environment and he is unable to appreciate sensory stimuli or initiate any voluntary movement

BP 0
HR 0
No spontaneous respiration
Isoelectric ECG flat line

A

Somatic death

Clinical death

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26
Q

3 Phase Criteria in establishing brain death

A

No reflex, spontaneous breathing, muscular activity
No clinical EEG response to noise or pinching (isoelectric EEG)
Repetition of 1 and 2 after 24-48 hours

No brainstem reflex (pupils dilated, non reactive, no doll’s eye, no corneal reflex)
No spontaneous respiration

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27
Q

Presumption of Death

A

Person not heard from for seven years

Absentee shall not be presumed for purpose of opening of succession till after 10 years

Disappeared after 75 years old - death after 5 years

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28
Q

If body is exposed to more than 75 C

A

Heat stiffening

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29
Q

Stiffening of the body when the body is frozen

A

Cold stiffening

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30
Q

Instantaneous rigidity at the moment of death due to extreme nervous tension, exhaustion and injury to the nervous system or chest

A

Cadaveric spasm

Instantenous rigor

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31
Q

The most useful indicator of time of death during the first 24 hours post-mortem

Cessation of circulation

A

Body Cooling

Algor Mortis

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32
Q

Cooling of the body
Rapid during 1st 2 hours

Fall of temperature 15-20 degrees F (-9 C)
Certain sign of death

A

Algor Mortis

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33
Q

Rise of temperature of the body after death due to rapid and early putrefactive changes during the first 2 hours after death

A

Post-mortem Caloricity

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34
Q

Post-mortem Caloricity may be observed in

A 
STRYCHNINE POISONING
Cholera
Yellow fever
Liver abscess
Peritonitis
Cerebrospinal fever Meningitis
Rheumatic fever
Tetanus
Smallpox
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35
Q

Factors affecting algor mortis

Delayed cooling

A 
Acute pyrexial diseases
Sudden death in good health
Obesity
Death by asphyxia
Death of Middle Age
36
Q

Hastened cooling

A

Leanness of the body
Extreme age
Long-Standing or lingering illness
Chronic pyrexial disease with wasting

37
Q 
3-6 hours after death
Last 24-36 hrs
Whole body is stiff = 12 hours
Lactic acid
Phosphoric acid
A

Cadaveric Rigidity
Death struggle of muscles
Rigor mortis

38
Q

Occurs 1-2 hrs after death

A

Algor mortis

39
Q

Substances responsible for rigor mortis

A

Lactic acid

Phosphoric acid

40
Q

Rigor mortis is due to

A

Loss of ATP

41
Q

Rigor mortis starts to develop about

A

2-3 hours after death

42
Q

Rigor mortis is first detected in

A

smaller muscle groups

eyes, mouth, jaw and fingers

43
Q

Demontrates the last activity one did prior to death and is therefore significant in forensic investigations

eg clinging on a knife tightly

A

Cadaveric spasm

44
Q

A crude indicator of the mode of death

A

Color of Hypostasis

45
Q

Cherry pink

A

CO poisoning

46
Q

Dark blue-pink

A

Cyanide poisoning

47
Q

Brown

A

Methemoglobinemia

48
Q

Bronze

A

Septic abortion caused by C perfringes

49
Q

Pallor

A

Anemia, hemorrhage or in normal extremes of age

50
Q

Organism associated with abortion

A

Clostridium perfringes

Clostridium sordelli

51
Q

Organism associated with putrefaction/decomposition

A

Clostridium welchii

52
Q

Site of hypostasis when the position of the body before death is supine

A

Shoulders
Buttocks
Heels pressing against surface give white color (pale)

53
Q

Site of hypostasis when vertical (hanging)

A

Distally in legs and feet

54
Q

Sites of hypostasis in drowing

A

Chest
Upper chest
Upper limbs

55
Q

Sites of hypostasis in face-down death

As in epilepsy, drunked vitcims

A

Whitening around nose and lips

56
Q

Earliest sign of putrefaction occurs in

A

right iliac area

Near cecum, more bacteria therefore earlier putrefaction

57
Q

Hypostasis is also

A

Livor mortis

58
Q

Greenish discoloration of skin of anterior abdominal wall most commonly in right iliac fossa (over cecum) due to

A

sulphmethemoglobin formation

59
Q

The first visible sign of putrefaction occurs in

A

12-18 hours

greenish discoloration on R iliac fossa

60
Q

Peculiar odour (smell) emitted on opening of the abdomen at autopsy

A

Rotten eggs hydrogen sulphide

61
Q

Bitter almond odor

A

cyanide

62
Q

Rotten eggs odor

A

Hydrogen sulphide

63
Q

Where the sclera remains exposed, two triangles of discoloration appear at each side of the cornea, either brown or black

A

Tache noire

64
Q

Dark, red-brown stripe that develops horizontallt across eyelids when not closed after death

A

Tache noir

65
Q

Lungs are distended like balloons
Overlapping the heart
With rib markings on the surface

A

Emphysema aquosum
Emphysema hydroaerique

Death by drowning

66
Q

Due to entrance of water into the air sacs which makes the lungs doughy readily pits on pressure

A

Edema aquosum

Death by drowning

67
Q

Whitish foam which accumulates in the mouth and nostrils

A

Champignion de

68
Q

Bronze coloration of the head and neck of a dead person observed in drowning

A

Tete de negri

69
Q

Hemorrhage Usually in lower lobes of lungs in drowning

A

Paltauf’s hemorrhages

70
Q

Goose skin has no value as a diagnostic sign of death from drowning

A

Cutis anserina

71
Q

Death due to burning

Heat stiffening

A

Pugilistic attitude

72
Q

Immediate cause of death in burning

A

CO poisoning

73
Q

Post Mortem Decomposition

A

Putrefaction
Mummification
Adipocrere
Skeletelization

74
Q

Pugilistic attitude

A

UE Flexed + Hands clenched

Flexors are stronger

75
Q

Starts immediately after death at the cellular level

Becomes visible in 48-72 h

Its onset may be sped up or delayed by several factors mainly:

temperature
humidity

A

Putrefaction

76
Q

Two phenomenon for putrefaction

A

Autolysis

Bacterial action - Clostridium welchii predominates

77
Q

Are the first to be affected by putrefaction

A

Brain and epithelial tissues

78
Q

Survives for longer periods once putrefaction commences

A

Heart
Uterus
Prostate

79
Q

The organs that show putrefactive changes in the following order:

A 
Larynx and trachea
Stomach, intestines, spleen
Liver and lungs
Brain
Heart
Uterus, prostate, kidney
Skin muscle, tendon
Bone
80
Q

Grave wax

Fat decomposition which results from hydrolysis and hydrogenation of the lipids (fatty cells) that compose subcutaneous fat tissues

A

Adipocere

81
Q

Fat decomposition results from

A

Hydrolysis
Hydrogenation

Saponification

82
Q

Fatty tissues of the body are transformed to soft brownish-white

Waxy material, rancid or moldy odor, floats in water

A

Saponification

Adipocere formation

83
Q

Prominence of superficial veins with reddish discoloration during decomposition

A

Marbolization

84
Q

Autolytic postmortem process that occurs in intrauterine deaths

It is caused by endogenous enzymes

A

Maceration

85
Q

the shriveling up of a tissue, as in dry gangrene, or of a dead, retained fetus

Dry, shriveled up

A

Mummification

86
Q

Types of Death

A

Somatic death
Molecular death
State of Suspended Animation/Apparent death

Legal Medicine (7 decks)

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