Medical Examiner

Medical Examiner’s Responsibilities 1. Identify the deceased 2. Establish the time and date of death 3. Determine a medical cause of death (the injury or disease that resulted in the person dying) 4. Determine the mechanism of death (the physiological reason that the person died) 5. Classify the manner of death Natural – cancer, old age, heart attach Accidental – car accident, trip down the stairs and hit head Suicide Homicide – a person taking the life of another Undetermined 6. Notify the next of kin Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company2

The Medical Examiner and the Coroner A medical examiner is a medical doctor, usually a pathologist, and is appointed by the governing body of the area. There are 400 forensic pathologists throughout the U.S. A coroner is an elected official who usually has no special medical training. In four states, the coroner is a medical doctor. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company3

2 general types of autopsies O Hospital (clinical) autopsy – performed to satisfy educational interests. Helps to determine the mechanism of death. Information obtained through the autopsy is only available to the next of kin O Forensic autopsy – is performed in the public interest and benefits those outside the medical circle. Provides answers posed by family, friends, lawyers, insurance agent, courts & physicians

Rigor Mortis – the stiffness Skeletal muscles contract – they become tighter…think about sore muscles after a hard workout Joints stiffen & lock in place Can occurring within 10 minute of death or take several hours…deals with personal body chemistry The body will stay very stiff for up to 72 hours (3 days)

Chemistry of Rigor Mortis Our cells use oxygen we breath in to burn glycogen as energy for our bodies After Death = No Oxygen anaerobic glycolysis makes lactic and pyruvic acids Lactic & pyruvic acid is what gives you sore muscles after a hard workout pH in you body decreases from a normal healthy 7.4 to acidic levels (below 7) due to lactic & pyruvic acid production Acid promotes a reaction between actin and myosin which work together to contract the muscle Muscle shortens until all ATP is used up! This can take up to 72 hours

Muscle Contraction

Livor Mortis When your HEART is beating the blood is mixing! Therefore, when the HEART stops beating the blood stops mixing…. Red blood cells are heavy & dense so they sink Maroon to blue color develops at lowest points (cover your eyes for the next slide if you are squimish) Visible 30 minutes-2 hours after death Tells you if the body was moved.

Livor Mortis

Algor Mortis Body cools by Radiation the higher the body temperature the more heat lost Conduction depends on surface contact faster if in water because enhanced surface contact Convection Wind cools faster Rate of cooling of body after death 1.5 ° F per hour under “normal conditions” No real conditions are “normal”

Algor Mortis 98.6 F = 1.5x + b F x = 6 hours Solve for b and figure out the persons body temp after 6 hours. Check the graph.