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Forensic Significance Pt. 2 > Decomposition > Flashcards

Decomposition Flashcards

1
Q

Describe somatic/body death

A

Cessation of cardiopulmonary function
Blood fails to flow to organ systems
Lack of oxygen
Whole systems fail

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2
Q

Describe neurologic death.

A

Cessation of most neurological activity, cardiopulmonary function remains
Irrecoverable

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3
Q

List three types of cellular death

A

Apoptosis
Necrosis
Autolytic

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4
Q

What is apoptosis?

A

Preprogrammed cell death

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5
Q

What is necrosis?

A

Cellular and tissue-level localized death due to pathology

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6
Q

Describe autolytic cellular death

A

Enzymatic non-programmed self-destruction

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7
Q

What are the two phases of decomposition?

A

Intrinsic and extrinsic

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8
Q

What happens during the intrinsic phase of decomposition?

A

Cells - autolysis
Bacterial release

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9
Q

What happens during the extrinsic phase of decomposition?

A

Soft tissue changes

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10
Q

What is the extrinsic stage of decompositon used to determine?

A

PMI

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11
Q

When does autolysis occur? Why?

A

Occurs when the cellular processes used to keep native enzymatic activity in check ceases.
Caused by lack of O2 and other material due to deprivation of active blood flow.

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12
Q

Describe the 4 stages of the decompositional process.

A

Fresh
Early
Advanced
Skeletalization/Mummification

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13
Q

What occurs during the fresh stage of decomposition?

A

Autolysis
Mortis triad

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14
Q

What is the mortis triad?

A

Algor, Livor, Rigor

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15
Q

What happens during early decompositon?

A

Bloating
Skin slippage
Purging

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16
Q

What happens during advanced decomposition?

A

Compression/deflation
Initial skeletalization

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17
Q

What happens during skeletalization/mummification?

A

Skeletal elements more than 75% exposed
OR skin becomes mummified

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18
Q

What is livor mortis?

A

Pooling/settling of blood in the body.

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19
Q

What is lividity?

A

Bluish-purple discoloration after death

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20
Q

What is blanching?

A

Lividity not fixed.

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21
Q

What is algor mortis?

A

Cooling or warming of the body to ambient temperatures

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22
Q

What is the rate of algor mortis in climate controlled environments?

A

2 deg F/hr
~1.11 deg C/hr

23
Q

What is algor mortis used to help estimate?

A

PMI

24
Q

What factors affect algor mortis (3)?

A

Clothing
Pathology
Humidity

25
Q

What is rigor mortis?

A

Stiffing of the body postmortem

26
Q

What causes rigor mortis?

A

Adenosine triphosphate released from muscles due to contraction

27
Q

When does rigor mortis first appear?

A

30 mins to 2 hours after death

28
Q

When is rigor mortis completely fixed?

A

12 hours

29
Q

When does rigor mortis start relaxing?

A

24-36 hours postmortem

30
Q

What is the Megyesi scale? How does it work?

A

Scale used to measure decomposition
Scores the head, trunk and limbs and then adds scores

31
Q

What stages are included in the Megyesi scale?

A

Fresh
Early
Advanced
Skeletonization

32
Q

What is total body score used to calculate?

A

Degree of decomposition

33
Q

What is examined in the total body score?

A

Head and neck
Torso
Limbs (together)

34
Q

What is the lowest total body score? Highest?

A

Lowest = 3 for fresh in all three regions
Highest = 35 for skeletonized

35
Q

Describe the charactersitcs of fresh decomposition.

A

Clean with no colouration changes
Early stages with lividity present and fixed

36
Q

How is fresh decomposition assessed?

A

Across the body at 1 point

37
Q

Describe the characteristics of a body at early decomposition. (7)

A

Autolysis and early putrefaction
Skin slippage
Blistering
Marbling
Green to grey colouration
Bloating
Purging of fluids

38
Q

Where does autolysis and early putrefaction typically start?

A

In the ileocecal junction

39
Q

Describe the characteristics of a body at advanced decomposition.

A

Caving in of the flesh
Moist decomposition with bone exposure at less than 1/2 of the body

40
Q

Describe the characteristics of a body at the skeletalization stage.

A

Most to all of the skeleton exposed
Bones are generally greasy to dry
Adipocere formation

41
Q

What is adipocere?

A

“Grave wax”

42
Q

In what conditions does adipocere occur?

A

Moist environments

43
Q

What is mummification?

A

Desiccation of tissues

44
Q

What usually causes mummification?

A

Aridity/lack of moisture in the air

45
Q

How might the environment tell us that a body is recently decease vs. longer deceased?

A

Recent - dead vegetation patch; abnormal mound
Longer = more lush vegetation, abnormal depression

46
Q

How can taphonomy be affect by environment?

A

Acidic soil = dissolved bone
Surface remains = sun bleached white

47
Q

Give examples of environmental conditions that can impact decomposition (8).

A

Temperature
Burial depth
Humidity/aridity
Type of surface
Accessibility of insects
Carnivore and rodent activity
Rainfall
Soil pH

48
Q

Describe compositional research in 1965.

A

First decomp study, focused on insect succession on remains
Found that pigs were analogous to humans with regards to insect activity only.

49
Q

Describe decomp research in the 1970s.

A

William Bass and his Colonel
What was thought to be more recent remains turned out to have been 100 years old.

50
Q

Describe decomp research in the 70s/80s/

A

William Bass opens the UTK Anthropological Research Center in Knoxville, TN.

51
Q

Describe decomp research in 1994.

A

Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
SC ruling changes forensic specific standards

52
Q

How can past decomp research be described as bad science?

A

Limited number of subjects
Did not account for compounding variables (ex. height, weight, fat content, exsanguination status, etc.)

53
Q

What has recent research found about decomp studies on pigs?

A

Pigs are not analogous to humans.

Forensic Significance Pt. 2 (7 decks)

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