CHE 113 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Forensic Pathology, Medical Diagnosis, Homicide

• School: Syracuse University
• Department: Chemistry
• Course: CHE 113
• Professor: James Spencer

Document Summary

Role of the forensic pathologist, 4 broad determinations to be made, cause of death, medical diagnosis denoting disease or injury, mechanism of death, altered physiology by which disease/injury produces death, manner of death. Injuries always take precedence over disease for determining the cause of death. Includes things like blunt-force trauma, sharp force trauma, drowning, etc: autopsy, steps, external examination y-incision. Internal examination: removal of the brain, weighting the organs, examination of stomach and gi tract, return organs to body. Sew up y-incision: dissection and examination of body to determine cause and manner of death, types of wounds (trauma, lacerations. Stippling: powder burns on the skin when the gun is inches to a few feet from the victim, asphyxia and strangulation. Insufficient amounts of oxygen reaching brain or essential organs of the body: causes of asphyxiation, drowning. Images soft tissues (only those with hydrogen atoms)