review sheet Flashcards
how far away can you smell a decomposing body?
30 yards
how does the body farm get their bodies?
homeless, donations, unclaimed
what is somatic death?
when ALL brain activity stops due to lack of oxygen
Define the following and explain how they can be used to determine PMI: algor mortis, livor mortis, rigor mortis, appearance of the eyes, stomach contents
algor mortis: temperature (ambient temp, obesity, clothing, and humidity)
livor mortis: blueish/purpleish patches
rigor mortis: muscle stiffness (face and jaw)
appearance of the eyes: person died with their eyes open (cloudy)
stomach contents: if there is food found in stomach, they died prior to the 4-6hours.
what factors can affect algor mortis?
temperature of the room/climate, if the body had been frozen
what is autolysis?
destruction of cells by their own enzymes
what is putrefaction?
an increase in insect activity, bloating due to gases, strong odors, and a release of fluids
what are purge fluids?
the fluids leaked out of the body after bloating occurs
what is butyric fermentation?
the fermenting of the exposed flesh and drying of tissue
what is dry decay?
flesh is leathery and hard
what is skeletonization?
bones have been completely exposed, as most soft tissue is gone
what factors speed up decomposition?
what factors slow down decomposition?
speed up-heat, humidity, small body size, open wounds, exposed flesh, animal presence, insect activity.
slow down-cold temperatures, wind, large body size, uninjured wrapped body, burial, alkaline soil.
what is adipocere?
a white waxy substance that converts fat to fatty acids
how can bones tell you about a crime?
(green, bleached, dark/stained)
green=recent
bleached=they have been exposed to the sun
dark/stained=they were buried
what can teeth tell you about a person?
age, economic status, (maybe identity)
how can you determine gender from a skeleton?
pelvic bone/skeleton structure
what is the epiphyseal union?
areas where the femur fuse with age
in general, the highest concentrations of a toxin are found where in a body?
where the toxin entered the body
what 2 drugs show up most frequently in toxicologist labs in the U.S.?
alcohol and cocaine
be familiar with the answers to the questions on the Chapter 9 and 10 reader’s guide.
what is an autopsy?
what is exhuming?
autopsy: a specialized surgical procedure used to determine the cause and manner of death. exhuming: when you dig up a grave to re-autopsy or re-examine the body
what is a Y incision?
incision made during autopsy that runs from shoulder to shoulder and down to the pubic bone
what is the rokitanksy method?
what is the Virchow Method?
rokitansky method- taking out all major organs in one “block”
virchow method-taking out all major organs one at a time
be familiar with the autopsy terms given in the pickle lab.
give the difference between and examples of the following: Manner of Death, Cause of Death, and Mechanism of Death.
manner of death: natural, accidental, suicide, homicide (undetermined)
cause of death: gunshot, skull fracture, poisoning (disease, injury- that results in death)
mechanism of death: physiological reason for death (exsanguination;bleeding out, heart failure)
if the highest concentration of poison is in the GI tract or the liver, how was the person poisoned?
ingested
if the highest concentration of poison is in the lungs, how was the person poisoned?
they breathed it in
what technique uses a moving liquid to separate a substance into its components?
thin layer chromatography
pH levels.
pH under 7= acid
pH above 7=base
there are two really good parts to look at to determine gender from a skeleton. what are they?
skull or pelvis
an overdose of heroin is suspected as the cause of death. Why wouldn’t a toxicologist screen for heroin?
it is immediately metabolized to morphine. Screen for that.
what technique involves getting antibodies to a specific drug from an animal and then using those antibodies to test if a substance is present in humans?
immunoassay
distal
furthest away (hand)
what organ is often used to take body temperature?
liver
if I told you to look at the dorsal part of your body, where would you look?
your back
what is the formula to calculate PMI using temperature?
(98.6 - liver temperature)/1.5 F
a body is found. When taken, the body temperature is 85.1. Room temperature is 72. Approximately how long has this person been dead?
this person has been dead 9 hours.
approximately how many hours does it take to empty your stomach of food?
4-6 hours
list the following body parts in order of how food passes through the digestive system:
mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine
what does it mean to say lividity is fixed?
the purplish color does not disappear when touched
what type of vessel brings blood to the heart?
vein
what would I find in your thoracic cavity?
heart and lungs
what type of vessel takes blood away from the heart?
artery
what would you test for to see if a person was alive before being burned in a fire?
look for CO levels in the lungs indicating that they breathed it in.
a body is discovered. The face and jaw are not in rigor but the rest of the body is. Out of these choices, which gives the most likely time since death?
15-20 hours
you find lividity on a person’s back. They are lying on their front. What does this mean?
body has been moved
True or False: The amount of alcohol excreted in the breath is directly proportional to the amount in the blood.
true
