Literature Review
Post Mortem Examination and PMI
The purpose of post-mortem examination of human remains plays a crucial part within criminal investigation. The role of post-mortem examination is to establish three relevant facts which are causes of death, identification of the deceased and the time that death occurred (Jackson and Jackson, 2011). The reason why gathering the time of death, is so important, is that it can be used against statements or alibis that may be developed through the course of a criminal investigation (Adcock and Chancellor, 2013). If the post-mortem examination takes place within the first 72 hours, normally the pathologist will be able to give a relatively accurate time of death, basing this on the fall in body temperature and the condition of the body itself, however outside of this time zone; there is less medical information to correlate the post-mortem interval, referred to as PMI (Gennard, 2007). PMI is harder to correlate after this 72 time zone for one reason, and that is temperature, once death has occurred the human body temperature starts to drop from around 37°C to that of the surrounding environment which enables the pathologist to back track to come to the PMI (Jackson and Jackson, 2011), the problems with this method for correlating PMI come in two different ways. The first of these problems is factors which can affect the rate at which a corpse cools, such as the temperature, humidity, precipitation and exposure of the corpse to the environment (Jackson and Jackson, 2011) and the second being that after 42 hours, decomposition is normally established, which is expected to normally increase the temperature of the body slightly (Jackson and Jackson, 2011).
PMI, Entomology and the Five St...
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...e present at the corpse due to a direct relation to the stage of decomposition; this has to be taken into account when determining PMI. Payne et al (Gennard, 2007) conducted an experiment using pigs heads buried at depths of 50-100 cm and listed 48 arthropod species colonizing the corpse, with 20 of these being restricted to buried corpses. Between 6-8 weeks after burial, they recorded 80% decomposition based upon weight loss, this was compared to the same decomposition stage of an unburied pig, which was found to reach the same decomposition stage within 7 days. The effects this has on determining PMI can be seen in two ways, one through the different insect succession which can be used to identify a possible PMI, and the second in how burial can greatly reduce the time that it takes for a corpse to decompose, possibly making it harder to calculate an accurate PMI.
Chapter 6: Mary Roach explains the use of cadavers for weapon experiments. Although it was sometimes ineffective for evidence evaluation scientist replaced them with animals such as pigs to receive better data. Changes like these were made to have more efficient experiments and have easier removal.
Roach lists strange but helpful uses of human cadavers that benefit humankind in the long run. In the first chapter, as previously stated, Roach observes a face anatomy and face lift refresher course, in which surgeons use cadaver heads. This is an example of how cadavers are often used to practice different types of surgical operations, even cosmetic surgery (Roach 24). Cadavers also benefit the science of criminal forensics, in which their decay process is studied and used for different components of analyzing a crime, such as time of death. Researches place cadavers in different environments and observe the stages of biological and chemical decay and how different environments affect the decay process (Roach 61). To pinpoint the time of death, researchers analyze the body temperature, smell, the potassium level of the gel inside the eyes, insect infestation, and other entomological factors (Roach 62). Another beneficial use for human cadavers includes impact studies, such as a car crash. For the past sixty years, human cadavers have helped scientists understand and study human tolerance limits for violent injuries a human body can get from car crashes, such as skull slammings and chest skewerings. These studies and experiments allow automobile manufacturers design cars that, in the event of a crash, protect the person as much as possible and keep them safe (Roach 87). This results in safer windshields and steering wheels that aim to protect the chest and brain, the main culprits of car crash fatalities (Roach 89). One of the most extraordinary concept that Roach investigates is the live (beating heart) cadaver. Beating heart cadavers are alive by every means except the brain. The cadaver has perfectly functioning organs and a pulse, but is ultimately brain dead. Doctors utilize the cadaver’s functioning organs, such as the kidneys,
The show portrays that forensic anthropologists are responsible for almost every aspect of the death investigation, which does not correctly depict the role of forensic anthropologists (Wood,2017a). The method of which components of the biological profile, like sex of the remains, is also incorrectly portrayed as Dr. Brennan estimated the sex using a trait that does not accurately indicate sexual dimorphism (Wood, 2017c). Lastly, the complexity of personal identification, which is one of the most important aspects of forensic anthropology casework (Krishan et al, 2016), is not portrayed correctly as Dr. Brennan and her team based the identification of the remains on one trait that has questionable reliability (Charles & Levisetti, 2011). All in all, ‘The feet on the beach’ episode of ‘Bones’ does not accurately portray the forensic anthropology as it is romanticized for entertainment and overly simplified for a lay person to
In the article “Blood and Tissue Spatter Associated with Chainsaw Dismemberment” author Brad Randall discussed the dismemberment of two large pig carcasses by a small electric chainsaw in order to study the patterns of blood and tissue spatter. Although there was no blood present in the basement where the body was dismembered, there were small pieces of bone and soft tissue discovered with DNA that confirmed that it was in fact the missing 43-year-old woman who had been murdered and dismembered there. The few pieces of bone and soft tissues had been recovered from the adjacent walls no more than 1 m above the floor, as stated by the article.
2. Kirsch, Laura. “Diagnosis: DEATH.” Forensic Examiner 15.2 (2006): 52-54. Criminal Justice Periodicals. ProQuest. USF Mears Library, Sioux Falls, SD. 24 Apr. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/
When a death occurs suddenly, unexpectedly and from unnatural or unknown causes, a forensic scientist has the duty to gather and analyze evidence to determine whether the victim died from a previously undiagnosed disease or infection or from a homicide, suicide or accident (Lurigio, 2009). When considering suicide as the probable cause of death, we are looking at the act of intentionally killing oneself through one’s own effort or with the assistance of another (Sever, 2009). The resolution of the manner of death by a forensic pathologist as suicide is based on a series of factors which eliminate natural causes of death, homicide and accident (Geberth, 2013, p.55). The cause of death is also determined by the medical examiner in conjunction with the crime scene investigator; however, it can only be determined after a thorough investigation is concluded. Therefore, in the complicated process of doing a death investigation there are several mistakes that should be avoided, which are discussed in Geberth’s article, Seven Mistakes in Suicide Investigation (2013). Mistakes in doing any death investigation affect the integrity of the evidence in determining the cause of death and in its admissibility in court.
It was a 92 degree fahrenheit morning at 9:45 on August 14th, when Doug Greene placed a call to 911. He informed the police that he was concerned because Anna had been seen wearing a sweater the previous day despite the unusual heat and wasn’t answering her calls or her door. Both the police and the EMT arrived at the crime scene at 9:56 am where they found Anna Garcia lying on the floor. They entered the crime scene and declared Anna dead. The crime scene was then secured at 10:20 am for investigation. The crime scene was confined to a 10’ by 20’ entry hallway. At the crime scene, investigators marked areas where vomit, blood stains, blood spatter, footprints, a strand of hair, scattered pills, a syringe, and dirty cup were lying on the floor. They also discovered fingerprints that could be taken to a lab for analyzation. Anna was found lying face-down against the floor surrounded by blood and vomit near her mouth. The table in the crime scene
The MACI consists of a 160-item inventory, provided in the English and Spanish language, with a combination of the 27 subscales. The intention of the inventory is to provide counselors and other healthcare or school professional with information to assist in diagnosis and treatment planning for personality disorders in adolescent (Millon & Davis, 1993). The inventory consists of true or false questions; given that this inventory is shorter compared to other personality assessment, it only takes about 20-30 minutes to complete. Millon’s MACI inventory provides convenient and cost-effective methods for scoring the inventory, which include Q-global web-based scoring, Q-Local software-based scoring, and mail-in scoring. Since the MACI is tailored toward adolescents ranging in ages from 13-19, participants must have a minimum of a sixth grade reading level in order to
“In most human society's death is an extremely important cultural and social phenomenon, sometimes more important than birth” (Ohnuki-Tierney, Angrosino, & Daar et al. 1994). In the United States of America, when a body dies it is cherished, mourned over, and given respect by the ones that knew the person. It is sent to the morgue and from there the family decides how the body should be buried or cremated based on...
The term autopsy also referred to as “Post-mortem examination”, “necropsy”, “obduction” and “ autopsia cadaverum” originates from the Latin language and denotes to “open, cut/dissect”. Another origin is from two Greek terms “aut” (self) and “opsie” (to see, to conduct a personal inspection) hence, autopsy refers to the opening/dissection of a cadaver to see for oneself, through observation, the cause of death or the nature of disease contrary to what has been reported by another party. Autopsy practice has been in existence since over 3000 years ago. It was however, not until the Renaissance in Europe that autopsy became standard practice (1,2). The link between clinical syndromes and postmortem findings is credited to the Dutch physician Herman Boerhaave (3).
Perhaps the most notorious of burial practices originating in Egypt is that of mummification. Why such an extraordinary attempt was made to preserve cadavers may seem
Maio, V. D. (2003). Medicolegal death investigation system: workshop summary. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Through this research I have found that forensics and forensics anthropology work hand in hand. They seem to be closely related in regards (regards is an emotion, you mean regard) to solving criminal cases. A huge interest for me, while conducting this research is the impact the analysis has on cold cases. Cold cases are very important and require an extensive analysis of one’s life whose life? Mine?. Often victims in a cold case do not have strong family bonds, or persons that they are close to. It is imperative within life to have friends and persons, who will say something if you are not seen in a couple of days or weeks. Knowing where a person may be or what a person is involved is important in the case of a missing person. It is a vital part of forensics in relation to forensic anthropology. Within forensics anthropology you can find out more detailed information on the decomposition process. Steadman (2014) The information (what information?) can be used to identify a victim and maybe lead to clues of the perpetrator. New paragraph The study of a victim may also l...
To further estimate the PMI, we can measure body temperature. The equation typically used for this is 37.5˚C – 1.5˚C. In other words, the victim’s body temperature drops 1.5˚C every hour after death until it reaches the ambient temperature of the surrounding environment. Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius, the victim’s body temperature in this case would
It has been found that the decomposition process is best divided into five stages: fresh stage, bloated stage, decay stage, post-decay stage, and remains. The fresh stage starts the moment the individual died and lasts until bloating can be observed. The bloated stage is usually within two to seven days after death. Putrefaction begins at this stage and the gases produced from bacteria cause...