Decomposition

What part of the human anatomy bloats first?

Face

Which are the first to colonize a corpse?

Anaerobic bacteria

What type of activity reduces the amount of ATP in a body prior?

Any violent muscular exertion prior to death with cause a decrease in ATP. This includes heavy exercise, severe convulsions, or having a high body temperature before death

Why is livor mortis important?

Because it helps determine whether or not a body has been move

How to determine time of death

1. livor mortis 2. rigor mortis 3. algor mortis (body temp) 4. degree/stage of decomposition 5. chemical changes in the vitreous 6. stomach contents 7. insect activity 8. scene markers

After death, what is the rate at which a body cools?

1.5 degrees per hours (have to take in multiple other factors)

When is livor mortis usually evident?

1/2 to 2 hours after death. It reaches max coloration 8 - 12 hours after death in general.

What is a death mask and when is it made?

A death mask is a mask made of a person's facial expression immediately after death.

What color do dependent areas (areas resting against a firm surface) look like.

A pale, blanched color due to the compression of vessels in this area.

What is death?

A process rather than an event. It begins when the heart stops beating and cells subsequently begin to die.

Lividity (Livor mortis)

A reddish purple to purple coloration in dependent areas of the body as a result of blood pooling in response to the pull of gravity and lack of pressure to push blood thru the vascular system.

Which cools faster, a wet body, or a dry body

A wet body

Why is determining the time of death important?

It helps eliminate or suggest suspects, or it can help confirm or disprove an alibi.

During gastric emptying, what type of food empties faster, solids or liquids?

Liquids

What is livor mortis sometimes mistakenly classified as?

Livor Mortis can often be mistaken for bruising.

What is the most important aspect of livor mortis (and it's not determining time of death!)?

Livor Mortis is important in determining whether or not a body has been moved.

Areas that rest against a firm surface appear to be what color during livor mortis?

They appear to be a light, pale, and blanched color.

How did Native Americans bury their dead

They exposed the body on the platforms or in trees for some time to decompose and then later collect the bones for burial.

Emaciation

When a person is starved and dehydrated to the point of death

[Yes/No] Do cells continue to absorb ATP after death?

Yes

[Yes/No] If too much blood settles in one area of a blood vessel, the blood vessel can rupture?

Yes

[Yes/No] In a hot, dry climate, a body will mummify rather than decompose?

Yes

[Yes/No] Rigor Mortis affects all muscles at the same rate?

Yes

Describe the coloration process of the sclera during decomposition.

if the eyes are open at death the sclera darkens, if closed, a white scummy material covers the eye, the process is known as Tache noire

Ecchymoses

larger blue or purplish patches on the skin (bruises); greater than 10cm in size

Petechia

minute, pinpoint hemorrhage under the skin; less than 3mm

Purpura

multiple pinpoint hemorrhages and accumulation of blood under the skin; 3mm-10mm in size

What does the word "burial" mean

"burial" comes from the anglo-saxon word "birgan" which means to conceal

Which formula is used to calculate body temperature

(98.6 F-rectal temperature)/1.5

What types of death does a pathologist investigate

Deaths that are sudden and unexpected or have an unknown cause.

Livor Mortis is sometimes confused as what type of injury?

Bruising

What causes livor mortis to produce a pinkish color?

Carbon Monoxide

What type of weather can stop decomposition?

Cold weather

Describe the loss of body temperature through conduction, convection and radiation?

Conduction: A dead body will lose heat through direct contact with a cold surface. Convection: A dead body will lost heat through the movement of air or water molecules across the skin. Radiation: A dead body will lost heat through infrared rays. This does not involve physically contact.

What disease tends to lower a person's body temperature prior to death?

Congestive Heart Failure

How did King Lear try to determine death?

He placed a piece of glass near the woman's mouth and if her breath fogged up the glass, then she was still alive.

Jacques-Benigne Winslow thought one should determine death by what methods?

He recommended that resuscitation on different body parts should be used on seemingly lifeless patients to see if they were actually dead.

In the past what substances where used for embalming?

Honey, wax, alcohol, oils, herbs and spices.

List three ways in which time of death might be established.

How cool the body is, rigor mortis, and decomposition of cells

Why does livor mortis produce a pinkish color?

If livor mortis is a cherry red or pinkish color, it means the cause of death is due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

How quickly does rigor mortis occur in drowning victims?

In drowning deaths, rigor mortis fully develops within 2 hours due to the loss of ATP from the violent struggle to stay afloat.

How do cells decompose? [outside to inside/inside to outside]

Inside to outside

Putrefaction spreads quickest thru which part of the human anatomy [intestines -or- circulatory system]

Intestines

Which insects is the last to show up at the insect parade?

Moths

What does a mummy contain that fossils don't

Mummies contain the body's soft tissue such as skin, organs, and muscles

[Yes/No] A dry body cools faster than a wet body.

No

[Yes/No] Can the scent of death be used to establish time since death?

No

[Yes/No] Does being immersed in water increase the rate of decomposition?

No

What is livor mortis also known as?

Other terms are lividity, postmortem hypostasis, and blood pooling.

How quickly does rigor mortis occur?

Rigor Mortis usually appears 2-4 hours after death. However, in rare cases it can appear instantly, which is know as a cadaveric spasm.

Do embalmed bodies decompose faster or slower than naturally decomposing bodies?

Slower

Tardieu spots

Small hemorrhages from ruptured blood vessels on the extremities that occur after the body has been in a dependent position

When blood vessels rupture after death they produce what type of spots?

Tardieu

What causes Tardieu spots?

Tardieu spots are formed with blood accumulates in dependent areas of the body. The pressure caused by this settling blood causes small capillaries to rupture and creates these spots.

What is the classic presentation of rigor mortis

The classic presentation of rigor mortis goes in order of the jaw, upper extremities, and finally lower extremities.

What must an examiner do if he/she decides to take a rectal?

The examiner sticks a thermometer into the corpse's rectum and gains a reading from it. Them they subtract the rectal temperature from 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and divide the number by 1.5 to determine time of death.

What causes rigor mortis?

The lack of ATP. (ATP is need for movement, someone dies the muscles will stay slightly contracted)

What are 3 sites in a person's body where temperature is taken?

The mouth, the armpits, and the rectum

What are the signs of death?

The onset of putrefaction or absence of heartbeat and breathing.

Decomposition fluid (purge fluid) will drain from what part of the human anatomy?

The orifices (mouth, ears, anus, etc.)

What is emaciation?

The starving of an individual