ABMDI REGISTRY EXAM SCRIPT UPDATED QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔Guardianship or power of attorney - ✔✔Legal authorization to act on another
individual's behalf. This authority usually ceases after death, so be sure to check the law
in your state
✔✔Interrogation - ✔✔The formal act of examining a person by asking questions, usually
a law enforcement function
✔✔Interview - ✔✔A formal face-to-face conversation between a reported (the
medicolegal death investigator) and a person from whom information is sought (the
witness)
✔✔Legal next-of-kin - ✔✔The hierarchical succession of survivors established by law
✔✔Media - ✔✔Any news-reporting agency (e.g. newspaper, magazine, radio,
television) and its representatives
✔✔Objective report - ✔✔A report made in an independent and unbiased manner,
without regard for personal attitudes or thoughts
✔✔Pathologist - ✔✔A physician trained in the identification and diagnosis of disease
and injury who may perform autopsies
✔✔Pedigree - ✔✔The list of ancestors on a person's family tree
✔✔The public - ✔✔Any person or agency not officially affiliated with or recognized as a
member of your office
✔✔Religious objection - ✔✔A family's objection to the performance of an autopsy based
on their religious/spiritual beliefs
✔✔Retort - ✔✔A vessel or chamber in which substances are decomposed by heat
✔✔Self-inflicted - ✔✔The infliction of injury or death on oneself
✔✔Statutory - ✔✔Authorized by law
✔✔Autoeroticism - ✔✔Sexual activity in which an individual indulges in private, usually
involving some form of asphyxia to heighten sexual pleasure
,✔✔Confidential (private) information - ✔✔Information that is protected by law and can
be released only to certain authorized parties or that requires a court order for its
release
✔✔Hold-harmless agreement - ✔✔A signed agreement or contract in which the signing
parties agree not to file action for any injuries against the receiving party that might arise
out of the contract or agreement
✔✔Public information - ✔✔Information the public has a legal right to know and that
cannot be withheld
✔✔Survivors - ✔✔Those persons (family/friends) who remain alive after the death of
someone else (family member or friend)
✔✔Ambient - ✔✔A condition that completely surrounds or encompasses something
✔✔Anomaly - ✔✔A marked deviation from normal; for example, congenital defects
✔✔Chain of custody - ✔✔The documentation of sequential possession and location of
evidence; documentation of the accountability for property or evidence, which allows
one to trace the individuals who have had possession of it, the date and time of transfer,
and where the material was secured while in those individuals' agencies' custody
✔✔Coordinate method of measurement - ✔✔Measurement of evidence from a fixed
point along a baseline
✔✔Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) - ✔✔A process by which emergency
personnel are offered the support necessary to reduce job-related stress
✔✔Demographic information - ✔✔Data specific to a given individual, such as
identification, next-of-kin, and address; typically provided in table format
✔✔Dental records - ✔✔Written charts and radiographs of an individual's teeth
✔✔Dependent - ✔✔The supporting surface of the body
✔✔Diagram - ✔✔An illustrative outline of a tract of land, or something else that can be
projected in a linear fashion, which is not necessarily intended to be perfectly accurate
✔✔DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - ✔✔The genetic material passed through from the
cells of one generation to another
, ✔✔Electrolytes - ✔✔Components of a solution containing dissolved acids, bases, or
salts forming constituents of tissue fluid, plasma, and cellular fluid (i.e. sodium,
potassium bicarbonate, and chloride)
✔✔Exploding view or cross-projection drawing type - ✔✔Similar to the floor-plan type,
with folded-out walls; helpful in documenting bullets or blood stains on walls
✔✔F-stop (aperture) - ✔✔The light-gathering ability of the lens
✔✔Film speed - ✔✔ASA/ISO/DIN indicates the speed of the film. The higher the
ASA/ISO number, the less available light is required to take a picture. For example, 100
or 200 film is good for bright days, whereas 400 would be more appropriate for overcast
conditions
✔✔Floor-plan-view drawing type - ✔✔Overhead view of the scene, detailing evidence in
relation to the surroundings
✔✔HAZ/MAT (Hazardous Materials Unit) - ✔✔The agency charged with the
responsibility for planning preparedness and response actions related to spills or
discharges of oil and hazardous materials into the environment
✔✔Incident command system - ✔✔A standardized system of managing assigned
resources for effective and efficient control of any emergency event
✔✔Livor mortis (lividity) - ✔✔Postmortem settling of the blood into the dependent
portions of the body
✔✔Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) - ✔✔Descriptive data provided by the
manufacturers and distributors of hazardous materials
✔✔Multiple-fatality incident - ✔✔Any multiple-fatality event that exceeds the normal
capabilities and preparedness of an agency, requiring additional resources, manpower,
and response from that agency
✔✔Narrative report - ✔✔An objective report of the investigative process, written in
chronological fashion
✔✔NCIC (National Crime Information Center) - ✔✔Unidentified -person files that allow
data on these persons to be compared via computer. Also NCIC allows data to be
entered onto a computer based system that contains information regarding reported
missing persons
AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔Guardianship or power of attorney - ✔✔Legal authorization to act on another
individual's behalf. This authority usually ceases after death, so be sure to check the law
in your state
✔✔Interrogation - ✔✔The formal act of examining a person by asking questions, usually
a law enforcement function
✔✔Interview - ✔✔A formal face-to-face conversation between a reported (the
medicolegal death investigator) and a person from whom information is sought (the
witness)
✔✔Legal next-of-kin - ✔✔The hierarchical succession of survivors established by law
✔✔Media - ✔✔Any news-reporting agency (e.g. newspaper, magazine, radio,
television) and its representatives
✔✔Objective report - ✔✔A report made in an independent and unbiased manner,
without regard for personal attitudes or thoughts
✔✔Pathologist - ✔✔A physician trained in the identification and diagnosis of disease
and injury who may perform autopsies
✔✔Pedigree - ✔✔The list of ancestors on a person's family tree
✔✔The public - ✔✔Any person or agency not officially affiliated with or recognized as a
member of your office
✔✔Religious objection - ✔✔A family's objection to the performance of an autopsy based
on their religious/spiritual beliefs
✔✔Retort - ✔✔A vessel or chamber in which substances are decomposed by heat
✔✔Self-inflicted - ✔✔The infliction of injury or death on oneself
✔✔Statutory - ✔✔Authorized by law
✔✔Autoeroticism - ✔✔Sexual activity in which an individual indulges in private, usually
involving some form of asphyxia to heighten sexual pleasure
,✔✔Confidential (private) information - ✔✔Information that is protected by law and can
be released only to certain authorized parties or that requires a court order for its
release
✔✔Hold-harmless agreement - ✔✔A signed agreement or contract in which the signing
parties agree not to file action for any injuries against the receiving party that might arise
out of the contract or agreement
✔✔Public information - ✔✔Information the public has a legal right to know and that
cannot be withheld
✔✔Survivors - ✔✔Those persons (family/friends) who remain alive after the death of
someone else (family member or friend)
✔✔Ambient - ✔✔A condition that completely surrounds or encompasses something
✔✔Anomaly - ✔✔A marked deviation from normal; for example, congenital defects
✔✔Chain of custody - ✔✔The documentation of sequential possession and location of
evidence; documentation of the accountability for property or evidence, which allows
one to trace the individuals who have had possession of it, the date and time of transfer,
and where the material was secured while in those individuals' agencies' custody
✔✔Coordinate method of measurement - ✔✔Measurement of evidence from a fixed
point along a baseline
✔✔Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) - ✔✔A process by which emergency
personnel are offered the support necessary to reduce job-related stress
✔✔Demographic information - ✔✔Data specific to a given individual, such as
identification, next-of-kin, and address; typically provided in table format
✔✔Dental records - ✔✔Written charts and radiographs of an individual's teeth
✔✔Dependent - ✔✔The supporting surface of the body
✔✔Diagram - ✔✔An illustrative outline of a tract of land, or something else that can be
projected in a linear fashion, which is not necessarily intended to be perfectly accurate
✔✔DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - ✔✔The genetic material passed through from the
cells of one generation to another
, ✔✔Electrolytes - ✔✔Components of a solution containing dissolved acids, bases, or
salts forming constituents of tissue fluid, plasma, and cellular fluid (i.e. sodium,
potassium bicarbonate, and chloride)
✔✔Exploding view or cross-projection drawing type - ✔✔Similar to the floor-plan type,
with folded-out walls; helpful in documenting bullets or blood stains on walls
✔✔F-stop (aperture) - ✔✔The light-gathering ability of the lens
✔✔Film speed - ✔✔ASA/ISO/DIN indicates the speed of the film. The higher the
ASA/ISO number, the less available light is required to take a picture. For example, 100
or 200 film is good for bright days, whereas 400 would be more appropriate for overcast
conditions
✔✔Floor-plan-view drawing type - ✔✔Overhead view of the scene, detailing evidence in
relation to the surroundings
✔✔HAZ/MAT (Hazardous Materials Unit) - ✔✔The agency charged with the
responsibility for planning preparedness and response actions related to spills or
discharges of oil and hazardous materials into the environment
✔✔Incident command system - ✔✔A standardized system of managing assigned
resources for effective and efficient control of any emergency event
✔✔Livor mortis (lividity) - ✔✔Postmortem settling of the blood into the dependent
portions of the body
✔✔Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) - ✔✔Descriptive data provided by the
manufacturers and distributors of hazardous materials
✔✔Multiple-fatality incident - ✔✔Any multiple-fatality event that exceeds the normal
capabilities and preparedness of an agency, requiring additional resources, manpower,
and response from that agency
✔✔Narrative report - ✔✔An objective report of the investigative process, written in
chronological fashion
✔✔NCIC (National Crime Information Center) - ✔✔Unidentified -person files that allow
data on these persons to be compared via computer. Also NCIC allows data to be
entered onto a computer based system that contains information regarding reported
missing persons
