Death+Chapter+CEW


 * Partner - Bill Brock

Short Answers**

1. Explain similarities and differences

a. manner of death/cause of death: The manner of death helps to determine how the person died. The manner of death can be grouped by several different categories. The manner of deaths can be characterized by accidental death, natural death, suicidal death, homicidal death and often times undetermined. The cause of death is the reason someone dies. Some usual causes of death are physical injury, heart attack, disease and stroke. Manner of death and cause of death are related because they help to explain how and why someone died.

b.cause of death/mechanism of death: A cause of death is the reason someone dies. The cause of death could be anything from accidental, natural suicidal or homicidal. Sometimes some people's cause of death is undetermined. The mechanism of death is the more technical reason of why one dies. The mechanism is the specific body failure that leads to death. Both of these help to explain why someone dies but one is more internal and scientific.

c. larva/pupa: Larva is the immature form of an animal that undergoes metamorphosis. An example of an animal that goes through metamorphosis would be a maggot. Pupa is the stage in an insect's life cycle when the larva forms a capsule around itself and changes into it's adult form. Both larva and pupa are stages in which an insect such as a maggot goes through in it's life cycle.

d. rigor mortis/livor mortis: Rigor mortis is the stiffening of the skeletal muscles after death. Livor mortis is the pooling of blood in tissues after death resulting in the reddish color of the skin. Both rigor mortis and livor mortis are stages in which a dead body goes through within hours after death.

e. autolysis/decomposition: Autolysis is the spontaneous breakdown of cells as they self digest after the death of the body. Decomposition is the processing of rotting and breaking down following death. Both autolysis and decomposition describe the breakdown of the body after death.

2. Often times when there is bacteria living in the intestines, a few days following death, the intestines will begin to release gas carbon dioxide which will cause the abdomen to appear swollen. A few days following this swelling in the abdomen, the corpse will continue to bloat because of the bacteria feeding on the tissue throughout the body. The carbon dioxide will eventually cause the chest and abdominal cavity to burst and collapse. This usually happens within 6-10 days of death.

3. It can often be determined where the body originally died by observing the rigor mortis and the insects that surround the corpse. The rigor mortis is often controlled by temperature so the atmosphere in the country is alot different than in the city. There could also be physical evidence on the corpse.

4. I do not agree with her conclusion. Although after 15 hours there is a slow loss of rigor, it first starts to disappear in the head, neck and then later after 24-36 hours dissolves in the legs.

5. Blowflies are the first insects that will arrive on a corpse. They are attracted by the gases that are relased from the corpse. Gradually, other insects such as maggots arrive at the body and later wasp larvae are attracted to the corpse by the maggots and lay eggs all over the corpse.