Week 2 Flashcards
What is the death system concerned with?
Warnings and predictions about potentially life-threatening events
Preventing death
Social consolidation after death
What are 4 functions of a death system?
Making sense of death
Killing
Caring for the dying
Disposing of the dead
What is a mode of death vs cause of death?
mode of death (accidental, suicidal, homicidal, natural, or undetermined).
The cause isn’t necessarily the same as the mode. If it is death by asphyxiation due to drowning, how do you know if it is an accident or suicide? You know the cause (asphyxiation) not how
What are Canadas two systems of Death investigation?
the Coroner’s system: *in Canada by law they are physician but not in American
Medical Examiner system: * In Canada physicians with advanced training in forensic pathology
Both are known as a death investigator
What is Thanatography?
Written account of a person’s death.
Other than required by law, when do autopsy occur?
- Only after the next of kin’s consent or
- When the deceased has donated their body for autopsy
Define First/Second degree murder and Manslaughter.
First degree murder: Is typically murder for hire, or with multiple victims, or takes place in conjunction with other serious crimes. In Canada, it’s planned and deliberate murder.
Second degree murder: Confusing to define; but considered to have “less of a mental element” than first degree murder.
with the intent to harm not but not to kill.
Manslaughter: Wrongful, unplanned killing done without malice. either Unlawful Act or Criminal Negligence
what are the 3 components of Medical-Legal Investigation of Homicide?
An autopsy to determine official cause of death
Police investigation to ascertain facts and gather evidence pertinent to the killing
Judicial and quasi-judicial procedures to determine whether there is sufficient cause to bring a case to trial
How does race play a role with the death penalty? Where do majority of executions occur in America?
Almost 80% of those on death row have been executed for killing white people, even though black people make up about half of all people who have been murdered in the US
It’s also important to note that the majority of executions occur in the Southern States of the US. And, as I mentioned, Texas has the highest rates.
What are 3 Conventional signs of death? Define them.
Brain death: Irreversible loss of function in the brain stem, heartbeat and other vegetative functions continue
Clinical death: A determination of death made according to accepted medical criteria
Cellular death: An irreversible process of deterioration in the body’s systems and organs
How did Harvard Medical School define brain death? (4 points)
- Lack of receptivity and response to external stimuli
- Absence of spontaneous muscular movement and spontaneous breathing
- Absence of observable reflexes, including brain and spinal reflexes
- Absence of brain activity
How did American Academy of Neurology define brain death? (3 points)
- Person is comatose and the cause of coma is known
- All brain stem reflexes have permanently stopped working
- Breathing has permanently stopped. A ventilator is needed to keep the body functioning. Tests like EEG or cerebral flow studies NOT needed for a diagnosis of brain death
What are 4 Ways to Define Death according to Robert Veatch?
- Irreversible loss of flow of vital fluids
- Irreversible loss of soul from body
- Irreversible loss of capacity for bodily integration
- Irreversible loss of capacity for consciousness or social interaction
For organ transplant, does the donor always need to be alive/live aftwards? Where do donations usually come from?
Donor might be alive (i.e., a kidney from a relative)
Or, donor may be dead as long as organs are kept viable by artificially sustaining their physiological functions
80% of organs transplanted are from deceased donors
What is Cardiac Death?
declared on the basis of cardiopulmonary criteria of the irreversible cessation of the circulatory and respiratory function.
