Death Lectures Flashcards
What respiratory signs can indicate impending death?
Why is it important that clinicians can recognise signs of death?
What are post-mortem changes classified as?
Immediate
Early
Late
What are the immediate changes of death?
Insensibility
Loss of voluntary movements
Cessation of respiration
Cessation of circulation
Cessation of nervous system functions
Primary relaxation of muscles occurs
What are early post-mortem changes
Cooling (algor mortis)
Rigidity (rigor mortis)
Staining (livor mortis)
What are late post-mortem changes?
Autolysis
Putrefaction
Putrefaction involves the action of bacteria on the tissues of the body. This process, prevalent in moist climates, is associated with green discoloration of the body; gas production with associated bloating; skin slippage; and a foul odor.
Autolysis is the breakdown of the body by endogenous substances. It proceeds most rapidly in organs such as the pancreas and stomach. It may predominate in more arid conditions and can eventually result in mummification.
In most circumstances, autolysis and putrefaction occur in tandem. In temperate climatic conditions, they can result in rapid degradation of the tissues. These alterations may eventually produce great distortion of the body after death,
Which conditions are unequivocally associated with death (so you don’t have to assess the P for signs of life…)
How do you assess a P to pronounce death?
What types of autopsies are there?
