THE FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST The forensic pathologist performs autopsies to determine the cause and mechanism of violent deaths such as homicides, accidents, and suicides. He must determine three important things: cause of death: mechanism of death: time of death Forensic pathologists are often called upon as an expert witness
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THE FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST The forensic pathologist performs autopsies to determine the cause and mechanism of violent deaths such as homicides, accidents,
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THE FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST
The forensic pathologist performs autopsies to determine the cause and mechanism of violent deaths such as homicides, accidents, and suicides.
He must determine three important things:
cause of death: mechanism of death: time of death
Forensic pathologists are often called upon as an expert witness
• Body cools approx 1.5 degrees C/hr– Skinny cools faster– No clothes cools faster– In water cools much faster
• normal temp – measured temp/ 1.5 = #of hrs
Livor Mortis
• Lividity: red/purple coloration of skin.
• Due to settling of blood after death
• Skin will appear white in areas that were compressed.
Livor Mortis
• Lividity will appear in about 2 hours.– Areas will turn
white if you press
• Lividity will be “set” after 5 hours
Rigor Mortis
• Rigor: stiffening of muscles due to build up of salts.
Rigor mortis
• Rigor – Begins: 12 hours post mortem– face, arms, abdomen, legs– Takes: 12 hours to get fully stiffened– Then starts to go away in same order
• Face, arms, abdomen, legs
Decomposition
• 2 days post mortem– Marbling neck and shoulders 1st red then green– From bacteria getting into subQ tissue– Body gets bloated from gases created by bact.– Organs decompose in order:– Stomach and intestines, heart and liver– Lungs, brain, spinal cord– Musculature
ASPHYXIA AND STRANGULATION Insufficient amounts of oxygen reaching
brain or essential organs of bodyCauses of Asphyxiation:Natural: pneumonia, asthma Drowning SmotheringStrangulation: Homicidal, suicidal,
accidental Homicidal strangulation done manually-
brute force choking around neck Homicidal strangulation by ligature using
rope, wire, or garrote Hanging victim dies from pressure of
body weight or neck breaks Intensive heart congestion (enlarged
heart; right side ventricle) Venous engorgement (enlarged veins
above point of injury) Cyanosis (blue discoloration of lips and
• Close Range (6-8 inches): Entrance surrounded by stippling- HOT soot traveling for short distance; BURNS
• Intermediate range
• 1-3 feet
STAB WOUNDS Laceration is a tearing injury due to friction or impact with a blunt object. The
typical laceration has edges which are ragged3, bruised, and/or abraded. Puncture is a penetrating injury due to pointed object without a blade, such as
an ice pick The wound edges are smooth. Serrated blades produce the same smooth edges
as do nonserrated blades. Abrasion is a friction injury removing superficial layers of skin, allowing
serum to exude and form a crust. Contusion is a bruise due to rupture or penetration of small-caliber blood
vessel walls. Slash wounds tend to look like bullet wounds that only graze the surface of
the skin. Other types of slash wounds are called "hesitation marks" commonly found in suicide cases. They are typically rectangular in shape; i.e., their cuts are as wide and they are long.
Incision wounds: cutting with a blade, always have lengths greater than their depth, and you'll easily notice that a greater amount of subsurface tissue is exposed in an almost oval fashion.
BURN Scorching or burning of skin leads to sepsis and is
immediate cause of death
Wounds caused by heat, chemicals, or electricity
Fire victims found in “pugilistic” position: clenched fists, resembling pose of boxer
Heat causes protein in body to contract
Blood and lung samples taken
Blunt force trauma
Blunt Force trauma results from clubbing, kicking, or hitting the victims.
The blow produces a crushing effect on the human body, resulting in contusions, abrasions, lacerations, fractures, or rupture of vital organs.
Red-blue contusions are always present, but this varies by the weight of the individual (obese people bruise easier than lean people)
POISONINGDetermined by discolorations on body
Cherry- red lividity is sign of carbon monoxide poisoning
Toxins give off unusual odors
Certainty of diagnosis requires toxicological confirmation
Samples taken of stomach, vomit, kidney, lungs, liver