Death Process & TOD
What causes a cell to autolysize?
Lack of oxygen
Which mortis is described by the stiffening of skeletal muscles?
Rigor mortis
What is the proximate cause of death of a person who has HIV and dies from pneumonia?
HIV
What is the first stage of decomposition referred to?
Stage 1: Initial Decay / Fresh Decay
This is a post mortem examination of a body.
What is an autopsy?
What are the 4 things that a medical examiner is trying to determine from an autopsy?
1. Manner of Death
2. Cause of Death
3. Mechanism of Death
4. Time of Death
This refers to pooling of blood in the body after death.
Lividity
TEAL CARD
Heavy bacterial activity and gas build up within the organism indicates which decomposition stage?
Stage 2: Bloating / Putrefaction
This is the term for cell death.
Autolysis
RED CARD
Post Mortem Interval = 36 hours
What mortis patterns would you expect to see in a person that has been dead for 8 hours? (TIME LINE)
Rigor - stiff muscles
Livor - permanent lividity
This is a category of death that indicates the intentions behind a death and must be reported on a person's death certificate.
Manner of death
Which stage of death is marked by the body collapsing and the presence of a very strong odor and lots of insect activity? (occurs between 10-20 days after death)
Third stage: Black putrefaction or ACTIVE decay
This is a secondary cause of death that could be considered an underlying reason the person died
proximate cause of death
If the eyes are closed during death, how long does it take for the cloudy film to cover the cornea?
24 hours
When you are calculating time of death from body temperature, which mortis are you analyzing?
Algor mortis
ORANGE CARD
Manner of Death: Accidental
How long (in days) does Fresh Decay last?
Around 4 days
What is exsanguination?
Death from blood loss
BLUE CARD
Post Mortem Interval: 29 hours
LIME GREEN CARD
Time of Death: 8:08 am (Same Day)
YELLOW CARD
Mechanism of Death: Asphyxiation
What is the last stage of decomposition referred to? (Give 2 out of 3 names for this stage for all points)
Dry Decay
Skeletonization
Diagenesis (Bonus: 100)
A medical examiner is this type of doctor
Pathologist