FIS 201 – Exam 2 Study Guide (WVU)
Pathologist - Determines cause of disease or trauma based on appearance and chemistry of
bodies or tissues.
Medical Examiner - Appointed by jurisdiction and is usually a physician who is a board-certified
forensic pathologist and is responsible for certifying the manner and cause of a death.
Coroner - An elected official and may or may not possess a medical degree with optional
education and training.
Death Investigator - They investigate death under the jurisdiction of the coroner/medical
examiner and need CSI training and basic medical knowledge. They collect the scene context
needed to determine cause of death.
Manner of Death - How the person died
Cause of Death - Why the person died
Natural - Disease and continual environmental abuse.
Accidental - There must not be intent to cause harm through gross negligence on the part of a
perpetrator or the victim.
Homicidal - A nonaccidental death resulting from grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional
actions of another person.
Suicidal - A result of an individual taking his or her own life with lethal intention.
,Undetermined/unclassified - Insufficient or conflicting data
For West Virginia, under what circumstances will a medical examiner have to do an autopsy? -
Violent, suicidal, unattended by physicians, inmate, or suspicious/unusual/unnatural deaths
occur
External Examination of an autopsy - Identify physical features like gender, ethnicity, hair, and
eye color and any identifying features like scars, tattoos, prosthesis
Internal examination of an autopsy - Open the body following a y-shaped cut, remove organs
and visually inspect, weight the organs, and section accordingly
closure of an autopsy - organs may be replaced, skin will be folded back, skin stitched, and body
put in a body bag
Postmortem interval (PMI) - The length of time that has elapsed since a person has died
Algor Mortis - A process that occurs after death in which the body temperature continually calls
until it reaches the room temperature
how fast of a rate does the body lose heat - 1.0F to 1.5F per hour
livor mortis - a purple or red discoloration of the skin caused by pooling of blood after death.
occurs immediately after death but only seen to the human eye after 20 minutes-2 hours later.
when does livor mortis become fixed - 8-12 hours
, Rigor mortis - The stiffening of the body after death; fusion of actin and myosin filaments
Rigor mortis onset - 10-12 hours; dependent on temperature and perimortem activity level
Other PMI estimates - body cooling rate, chemistry of the vitreous humor, colonization by
insects, decomposition such as mummification and adipocere formation, demineralization of
bone
Five major classes of trauma - mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical, asphyxiation
Mechanical Trauma - physical actions; force applied to the body
Thermal Trauma - temperature effects
Electrical trauma - electrical current causes fibrillation in the heart by overriding the sinoatrial
node
Chemical trauma - Chemical alteration of body processes
Asphyxiation - oxygen deprivation
Abrasions - skin is scraped off via friction; if damage is above the dermal blood vessels, may not
bleed
Human skin anatomy - epidermis, dermis, subcutaneous tissue
1st° abrasion - Epidermis only
Pathologist - Determines cause of disease or trauma based on appearance and chemistry of
bodies or tissues.
Medical Examiner - Appointed by jurisdiction and is usually a physician who is a board-certified
forensic pathologist and is responsible for certifying the manner and cause of a death.
Coroner - An elected official and may or may not possess a medical degree with optional
education and training.
Death Investigator - They investigate death under the jurisdiction of the coroner/medical
examiner and need CSI training and basic medical knowledge. They collect the scene context
needed to determine cause of death.
Manner of Death - How the person died
Cause of Death - Why the person died
Natural - Disease and continual environmental abuse.
Accidental - There must not be intent to cause harm through gross negligence on the part of a
perpetrator or the victim.
Homicidal - A nonaccidental death resulting from grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional
actions of another person.
Suicidal - A result of an individual taking his or her own life with lethal intention.
,Undetermined/unclassified - Insufficient or conflicting data
For West Virginia, under what circumstances will a medical examiner have to do an autopsy? -
Violent, suicidal, unattended by physicians, inmate, or suspicious/unusual/unnatural deaths
occur
External Examination of an autopsy - Identify physical features like gender, ethnicity, hair, and
eye color and any identifying features like scars, tattoos, prosthesis
Internal examination of an autopsy - Open the body following a y-shaped cut, remove organs
and visually inspect, weight the organs, and section accordingly
closure of an autopsy - organs may be replaced, skin will be folded back, skin stitched, and body
put in a body bag
Postmortem interval (PMI) - The length of time that has elapsed since a person has died
Algor Mortis - A process that occurs after death in which the body temperature continually calls
until it reaches the room temperature
how fast of a rate does the body lose heat - 1.0F to 1.5F per hour
livor mortis - a purple or red discoloration of the skin caused by pooling of blood after death.
occurs immediately after death but only seen to the human eye after 20 minutes-2 hours later.
when does livor mortis become fixed - 8-12 hours
, Rigor mortis - The stiffening of the body after death; fusion of actin and myosin filaments
Rigor mortis onset - 10-12 hours; dependent on temperature and perimortem activity level
Other PMI estimates - body cooling rate, chemistry of the vitreous humor, colonization by
insects, decomposition such as mummification and adipocere formation, demineralization of
bone
Five major classes of trauma - mechanical, thermal, electrical, chemical, asphyxiation
Mechanical Trauma - physical actions; force applied to the body
Thermal Trauma - temperature effects
Electrical trauma - electrical current causes fibrillation in the heart by overriding the sinoatrial
node
Chemical trauma - Chemical alteration of body processes
Asphyxiation - oxygen deprivation
Abrasions - skin is scraped off via friction; if damage is above the dermal blood vessels, may not
bleed
Human skin anatomy - epidermis, dermis, subcutaneous tissue
1st° abrasion - Epidermis only
