Human Remains Text Questions PDF

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Forensic Science Project...

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Human Remains Text Questions:

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1. What are two indications that a forensic pathologist might use to help determine the time of death? Two of the ways a forensic pathologist can determine time of death are Rigor Mortis, and Livor Mortis which both evaluate the stage of decomposition. 2. What three aspects does a forensic autopsy seek information about? The autopsy helps forensic scientists identify three different things: the cause of death, the mechanism of death, and the manner of death. The cause of death is the medical problem that leads to death, such as blunt force trauma, internal bleeding, blood loss, or gunshot. The mechanism of death refers to any instrument or weapon used in a death, such as a knife or firearm. The manner of death is how the death is classified—for example, suicide or homicide as opposed to disease or other natural causes. 3. How can digestion rates give information to forensic scientists about the time of death? During the autopsy, discussed later in this unit, forensic pathologists note how far food has traveled along the digestive tract. It takes about ten minutes for food to begin moving from the stomach to the intestines. Light meals typically take about one to two hours to digest fully in the stomach. Medium meals take about three to four hours, and heavy meals can take up to six hours. Liquids digest faster than solid foods. Using this information, forensic pathologists make observations about digestion in the dead body and estimate time of death. 4. What is mummification?

Mummification is a drying of the body and its tissues. The body and skin take on the appearance and texture of leather in a process that can happen within a matter of days. 5. How can human bones give forensic scientists an indication of age? Teeth and long bones are good indicators of age in children. For adults, the ribs and joints provide clues. When that happens, the bone has reached its maximum adult length. Bones usually reach their adult length between ages 17 and 25. For example, the tibia stops growing between the ages of 16 and 19, but the clavicle doesn’t stop growing until around age 25. This lets scientists pinpoint an age range for bone evidence from children and teenagers. Teeth provide an excellent marker for age in children. “Baby” teeth come in at about 6 months of age, and permanent teeth replace them by age 21. Bones change in adults, too. Cells inside bones constantly remodel bone structure. Bones also erode over time, becoming rougher. The ends of the ribs in older adults are rougher than in younger adults. Arthritis can change the appearance of joints over the years. Scientists use these changes to estimate adult age from bones. Critical Thinking Questions: 1. Imagine that you are at a crime scene. You find skeletal remains, but the skeleton is not complete as some of the smaller bones are missing. The bones are within a twenty feet radius. Based on this information, what would you be able to ascertain about the time of death and the individual who was killed? On the basis of the given information, one could presume that the victim was killed at least one to two years ago. However, there is not much information given in order to conclude the sex or age of the person killed. 2. Out of the different methods to help determine the time of death, which one do you think is most effective? Why? Rigor mortis begins after two hours of death, starting from the head and slowly progressing to the feet. After twelve hours of death, the body will be at its most rigor state. It's been said that it's possible to stand on the middle of a fully rigid body with only two platforms to support the

head and feet, without snapping the body in half. After 36-48 hours, the body will resume soft-dead body status. 3. Do you think you would like to participate in an autopsy? Why or why not? No because it could be quite a mutilated body so it would be too much to take in at once. 4. If you were a forensic anthropologist and were studying human remains, what information would you look for in the bones? Why would this information be helpful? Well what one can look for in bones is if there are any bruises or injuries. If the bones are weak or if in a certain period of time the bone was broken in any way. 5. What can the distribution of bones tell a forensic scientist? What do you think would be the most challenging aspect of collecting skeletal remains at a crime scene? The distribution of the bones can help investigators get an estimate of the time of death. If the bones are not attached and spread out, then the time of death is longer then if they were attached. The most challenging aspect would be collecting all the bones since the human body has 270 bones when we are born that reduces to 206 when we are adults. The smaller ones sometimes can be key in an investigation....