Forensic ch4

The irreversible cessation of blood, heart stops beating and cannot be restarted

Forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologists, forensic entomologists, police/investigators, family physicians

The study of the causes and effects of disease or injury

If the death is suspicious or unexplained

elected official, don't need to have a medical degree, basic knowledge of anatomy and medical terminology, cannot do an autopsy

physician, appointed official, can do an autopsy

document and photograph, collect phsyical evidence, attempt to determine timeof death, ascertain premortum location of body and if movement of body occurred

bruises = smothering, bloating on eyelids = injury inside head, bleeding ear = skull fracture

blood spatter/flow patterns = directionality, take blood sample, document tire marks/shoe prints, discarded eidence, locate weapons, put paper bags over heads ( could be evidence underneath)

Must be removed in a medically accepted matter in order to get evidence at autopsy

Medical dissection to determine cause and manner of death. In suspicious or unexplained deaths.

done in hospital, confirm diagnosis

done to solve crime, look at internal evidence

tissues and organs for toxicology, victims clothing, fingernails scruplings, head/pubic hair, Buccal swab (DNA), vaginal and anal samples, bullets from body, swabs for breast/penis, head swabs from shooting victim

Broad overview

condition of body/clothing, sex, height, weight, hair color, age, tattoos/piercings, punctures, scars, evidence of medical intervention, vomit/ blood on mouth

Preserve DNA evidence and see if gun shot residue to see if death was staged

produces characteristic marks, = how far away the victim was when shot, can leave discharge (shot powder)

Distant shot - no powder, no burns
Intermediate shot - no powder but stippling present
Near contact shot - powder burns, stippling
Contact shot - torn clothes/skin, stippling in wound

When funshot/stab wounds, can identify fragments of knife/ bullets, can determine path

REmoval of organs with y-incisions, start at top of each shoulder, extend down to public bone

Cut skin from ear to ear, pull scalp back, cut cranium from ear to ear and around back with saw, they dont want to leave marks on body

Fluid build up in lungs, found in chronic cocaine and amphetamine users

for suspicious poisoining, # of pills can imply suicide, type of pills tells type of drug

estimated time of death

specimens of blood, stomach content, blood, urine, brain matter, liver and vitreous humor can aid in poisoning or drug suspicions, blood tested for alcohol

Carbon monoxide - cherry red discoloration in the skin, cyanide - smells like burnt almonds

The reason someone dies, underlying cause, identifies injury/disease that led to death

The circumstances that led to the fatal result

sharp, blunt, gunshot, asphysxia, drug overdose

homicidal, suicidal, accidental, natural, undetermined

change in the body that caused death

caused by non-sharpened objects, could break skin eventually

caused by weapons with sharp edges

tied up or unconscious

cut - longer than deep
stab- deeper than long

induces interference with intake of oxygen

on hands = possible suicide

don't know toxic levels of individual

algor mortis, livor mortis, rigor mortis, potassium levels in eye, sotmach contents, rate of decomposition

body loses temp till ambient temp

body loses heat at a rate of 1-1.5 degrees fahrenheit per hour untill it reaches ambient temp

settling of blood in body to ground

if body was moved

muscles become stiff due to chemical changes

heat and clothing

inrease at a certain rate in the eye after death

fresh, bloat, active decay, advanced decay, dry remains

Autolysis - self digestion of cells own enzymes, rate varies, depends on method of death and other environment factors
Putrefaction - decomposition carried out by bacteria, acccompanied by bloating, discoloration, and foul smells by accumulating gases

Skin breaking away from body

Waxy substance that may form postmortum, takes 3 months to develop, can reveal how long body has been laying/time of death

identification and examination of skeletal remains as it relates to the law

gender, race, height, age, and disease/injury

They may scatter bones

Male - length and width of sacrum are equal, subpubic angle less than 90 degrees, v shaped
Female -wider more, circular, wide angle (u shaped)

Male - longer, square jaw, pronounced brow bone, larger mastoid process
female - smooth brow bone, less pronounced mastoid process, smaller jaw

looking at growth plates

different parts of skull fuse at different rates, amount of teeth

asian - more circular eye orbit, smaller and rounder nasal cavity
european - oval eye orbit, longer and narrower nasal cavity
african - square eye orbit, wide nasal cavity

identificaitons of victims in mass disaster, non human/human identification, time since death identification, genocide reconciliation, teaching

study of insects and their relation to criminal investigations

observing the life cycle of insects

blow fly

post mortem interval - time since a person has died

geographical location, climate, weather

They lay first at an open wound instead of eyesockets or nose