Autopsy and body Farm

1. Autopsy and body Farm

2. Autopsy • Medical examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death • Most states under US law require investigations of certain types of deaths: • injury • delayed complications of injuries • poisoning • infectious complications • foul play • people who die with no attending physician

3. Autopsy • A death that meets the criteria listed will be reported to the local medical examiner or coroner for: • investigation • legal determination of the cause of death • There are two types of autopsies: • Forensic • Clinical

4. Types • Forensic: • also known as a medical-legal autopsy • These try to find answers to the cause of death as part of an overall police investigation • Clinical • usually performed in hospitals by pathologists or the attending physician • interested in the disease processes that are going on

5. Manner of Death • There are five legally defined manners of death • Natural • Accident • Homicide • Suicide • Undetermined • The forensic pathologist acting as a medical examiner or coroner will assign a cause of death • Example: • if the autopsy reveals a natural disease process such as leukemia or cancer, then the death would be considered natural

6. DrKiesel States: • “Let's say, somebody 30 years ago received a gunshot wound to the head and they developed a seizure disorder. It's 30 years later, and they die from the seizure disorder. Well, the seizure disorder was caused by the gunshot wound; the gunshot wound is an unnatural event. That case would actually be classified as a homicide ... there's no time limit to that trauma. There's a time limit if you wanted to take it to court and sue somebody, but there's not a time limit as far as our making the call. “

7. Autopsy Procedure • External Investigation • The body Is received as a medical examiners office or hospital in a body bag or evidence sheet • Body Bag • brand new bag is used for each body • ensuring that only evidence from that body is contained within the bag • Evidence sheet • alternate was to transport the body • sterile sheet that the body is covered in when it is moved • brand new sheets are used for every corpse

8. Autopsy Procedure • Body bag seals are broken and the body is photographed inside the bag • The medical examiner will note the clothing and the position of the clothing • evidence is collected off of the external surfaces of the body • hair samples • fingernails • gunshot residue (if present) • fibers • paint chips • any other foreign objects

9. Body Removed from Bag… • undressed • wounds are examined • body is cleaned • measured and weighed • Body placed on autopsy table with a body block underneath • General description • Race • Sex • hair color and length • Eye color • Approximate age • Any identifying features (scars, tattoos, birthmarks, etc.)

10. Internal Examination • Y-shaped incision • made from shoulder to shoulder meeting at the breast bone and extends all the way down to the pubic bone • Peel back the skin, muscle and soft tissue using a scalpel • the ribcage and the neck muscles are exposed • Detach • larynx • esophagus • various arteries an ligaments • organ’s attachment tot the spinal cord, bladder, and rectum • entire organ set can be pulled out in one piece

11. An average autopsy case takes about four hours. That's including all the paperwork. There is about a half an hour before and after the autopsy for doing the external examination, the dictation, the paperwork. The autopsy can take anywhere from one hour to two hours if it's an uncomplicated case. If it's a complicated case like a homicide ... it can take many hours -- 4 to 6 hours.

12. Time of Death Certainty Principle • If you know with certainty when the person was last known to be alive, and if you know with certainty when they were found dead, then you know with 100% certainty that they died within that interval. • There are changes that occur after death. Most of them are chemically related. • lividityBlood settles by gravity within the body, and there's a purple discoloration that occurs. • rigidityor rigor  The body will become rigid. • vitreous humor, which is the fluid in the eye; the corneas become cloudy • gastric contents [food left in the stomach or intestines]. You know, when did they last eat, and that can be helpful. Do they have a full bladder or not?