Notes on page 69. Simply put, the end of life ◦ The irreversible cessation of circulation of...
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Transcript of Notes on page 69. Simply put, the end of life ◦ The irreversible cessation of circulation of...
Death: Manner, Cause and
MechanismNotes on page 69
Simply put, the end of life◦ The irreversible cessation of circulation of blood
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
What is death?
Stoppage◦ Nerves, muscles, organs and the
brain stop working because of the lack of oxygen
Autolysis◦ Breakdown of cells (cannot be
restarted)◦ Cell membrane dissolves,
enzymes and cell contents spill out and digest surrounding tissues
Stages of death
Who performs the autopsy?◦ The pathologist (medical examiner, coroner)
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
After death – the autopsy
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
Manner of death
1. 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?
2. An elderly woman dies after being kept from receiving proper health care by her son. Is the manner of death natural or homicide?
3. A person has been found with an overturned, empty bottle of pills. Is the manner of death suicide or accidental?
Consider these situations
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 Each cause of death brings about a
physiological change in the body
Cause of death
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)
Mechanism of death