Medicolegal Autopsy — Flashcards

Flashcard 1: Late signs of death include: _____, Adipocere, Mummification

Answer: Putrefaction

Flashcard 2: Negative vital reaction is seen in a(n) _____-mortem wound

Answer: Post-mortem

Extra: Vital reaction is the response of living tissue to trauma (e.g., inflammation, bleeding, healing). • **Positive vital reaction:** Indicates the injury occurred while the person was alive (**antemortem**). • **Negative vital reaction:** Indicates the injury occurred after death (**post-mortem**).

Flashcard 3: _____ is the study and interpretation of postmortem processes of human remains

Answer: Forensic taphonomy

Flashcard 4: _____-mortem abrasions are usually present over bony prominences.

Answer: Post (Ante/Post)

Flashcard 5: Postmortem marbling starts in _____ hours and becomes prominent in 36-48 hours.

Answer: 24

Flashcard 6: Which rule of thumb for estimating the time since death relates the decomposition rates in air, water, and soil in a 1:2:8 ratio?

Answer: Casper's dictum (ratio 1:2:8)

Extra: Casper's Dictum states that decomposition in Air : Water : Soil occurs in a ratio of 1:2:8 (i.e., a body decomposes as much in 1 week in air as it does in 2 weeks in water or 8 weeks buried in soil).

Flashcard 7: Time since death can be calculated using the formula: _____

Answer: (98.4 - Rectal temperature) / 1.5

Extra: This is known as Glaister's formula. It estimates the Post-Mortem Interval (PMI) in hours. (Note: Temperature is in Fahrenheit; 1.5 is the average rate of cooling per hour).

Flashcard 8: The order of appearance of rigor mortis (Nysten's Law) is: _____

Answer: Eyelids → Jaw → Neck → Trunk → Upper limbs → Lower limbs

Extra: Rigor mortis follows Nysten's Law, typically appearing in a cranio-caudal (downward) direction. It also disappears in the same order it appeared. Sequence: Eyelids → Jaw → Neck → Trunk → Upper limbs → Lower limbs. Note: The heart is the first muscle to develop rigor mortis (within 1 hour).

Flashcard 9: Two reliable indicators suggesting that the victim was alive while the fire was in progress:1. Elevated levels of _____ in the circulating blood.2. Carbon particles in the air passages and lungs

Answer: carbon monoxide

Flashcard 10: _____ appears on the sclera 3-4 hours after death

Answer: Tache noire

Extra: Tache noire occurs due to the drying (desiccation) of the exposed part of the sclera when the eyelids are open after death. It is characterized by brownish-black triangular spots on either side of the cornea.