Transcript Death: Manner, Cause and Mechanism

Notes on page 69
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Simply put, the end of life
◦ The irreversible cessation of circulation of blood
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Heart stops beating and cannot be restarted
When the heart stops beating, the body
cannot transport oxygen to all its cells and
the cells start to die
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Stoppage
◦ Nerves, muscles, organs and the
brain stop working because of the
lack of oxygen
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Autolysis
◦ Breakdown of cells (cannot be
restarted)
◦ Cell membrane dissolves,
enzymes and cell contents spill
out and digest surrounding
tissues
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Who performs the autopsy?
◦ The pathologist (medical examiner, coroner)
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Conducted to determine manner, cause and
mechanism of death
Careful and detailed medical examination of a
person’s body and organs
Each organ is removed and examined
Tissue samples are taken
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The general ways a person can die
◦ Natural – caused by interruption and failure of body
functions resulting from age or disease
◦ Accidental – caused by unplanned events
◦ Suicide – occurs when someone purposefully kills
oneself
◦ Homicide – death of one person caused by another
person
◦ Undetermined – based on the facts of the case and
the autopsy, the pathologist cannot determine
manner of death
1.
2.
3.
A man with a heart condition is attacked
and dies from a heart attack during the
assault. Is the manner of death accident or
homicide?
An elderly woman dies after being kept
from receiving proper health care by her
son. Is the manner of death natural or
homicide?
A person has been found with an
overturned, empty bottle of pills. Is the
manner of death suicide or accidental?
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The reason someone dies
◦ Natural: heart disease, cancer, stroke, physical
injury, heart attack, disease
◦ Accidental: Car accident, fall from a ladder, struck
by lightning
◦ Suicide: Hanging, overdose, gunshot
◦ Homicide: Bludgeoning, shooting, burning,
drowning, strangulation, suffocation
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Each cause of death brings about a
physiological change in the body
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The specific physiological change in the body
that brought about the cessation of life
◦ Example: If the cause of death was a shooting, the
mechanism could be loss of blood (exsanguination)
or cessation of brain function
◦ Example: If the cause of death was massive trauma
from a car accident, the mechanism could be
pulmonary arrest (lungs stopped working)
◦ Example: If the cause of death is a drug overdose,
a cardiac arrhythmia usually occurs (change in the
heart rate)