Deck 9: Injury and Death Investigations

Question 1

According to the textbook,there are nine methods most commonly employed in suicides.Which of the following is/are not one of the methods?

A) Shooting.
B) Jumping from high places.
C) Cutting and piercing.
D) Electrocution.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which types of wound are normally small,produce little or no bleeding and can be easily overlooked?

A) Puncture wounds.
B) Laceration wounds.
C) Defense wounds.
D) May be any of the wounds depending on what weapon was used to cause the injury.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Incised wounds are inflicted by

A) blunt objects.
B) gunshots.
C) ice picks.
D) sharp-edged instruments.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which gun shot residue metal is of interest to analysts?

A) Barium
B) Antimony
C) Lead
D) All of the above

Question 5

The gas most frequently involved in medico-legal investigations is

A) carbon dioxide.
B) carbon monoxide.
C) nitrogen.
D) hydrogen.

Question 6

Which statement about rigor mortis is most accurate?

A) The process is accelerated in cooler environmental temperatures and retarded in warmer ones.
B) The process is retarded in cooler environmental temperatures and accelerated in warmer ones.
C) Body temperature and metabolic rate have no effect on how quickly rigor mortis sets in.
D) Once the body becomes stiff with rigor mortis, it remains stiff indefinitely.

Question 7

Which of the following statements about suicide are incorrect ?

A) Suicides notes are not left in most suicides.
B) The attempted suicide rate is higher for women than men.
C) There is no difference between note writers and non-note writers in the methods used to kill themselves.
D) If women use a firearm, the wound is usually in the body and not in the head.

Question 8

What type wound typically bleeds freely and characteristically is accompanied by bruising around the edges?

A) Puncture wounds.
B) Laceration wounds.
C) Defense wounds.
D) May be any of the wounds depending on what weapon was used to cause the injury.

Question 9

Which of the questions about livor mortis is least accurate?

A) When considered with other factors it may help estimate the time of death.
B) May indicate whether the body has been moved after death.
C) It alone will positively determine the time of death.
D) The actual coloration of the skin may indicate the cause of death as in the case of carbon monoxide poisoning, certain forms of cyanide poisoning, or extreme cold when the color of the lividity is not purplish but cherry red.

Question 10

A cadaveric spasm typically involves a decedent's hand tightly clutching a weapon,usually a gun,a knife,or a razor at the moment of death.What is the name commonly associated with this situation?

A) Livor mortis extendus.
B) Death grip.
C) Cadaveric spasm death grip.
D) Rigor mortis extendus.

Question 11

Livor mortis is caused by

A) blows from a blunt object.
B) poisoning.
C) gunshot wounds.
D) settling of the blood.

Question 12

In a hanging death,where is livor mortis most pronounced?

A) In the lower portions of the arms and legs.
B) In the jaw.
C) Around the face and lips.
D) All of the preceding are where livor mortis is most pronounced in a death by hanging.

Question 13

During a fire death,the victim's skull may be fractured.The investigator must do a careful exam to determine if the fracture is implosive or explosive.What does an implosive fracture indicate?

A) It may have been caused by a fall.
B) It may be evidence of a previous felonious assault or homicide.
C) It may result from a collapsed structural member.
D) It may be any of the preceding.

Question 14

The study of insects associated with a dead body,which is used to determine the elapsed time since death is called

A) forensic insectomology.
B) forensic bugology.
C) forensic entomology.
D) forensic rigorology.

Question 15

Which statement about ligature strangulation is most correct?

A) Females predominate as victims.
B) Suicides and accidents involving death by the use of a ligature are quite common.
C) This mechanism of death is quite different than that of hanging.
D) Consciousness is lost in 10 to 15 minutes.

Question 16

In a drowning case,which of the following may occur in drowning victims?

A) The mastoid cells of the ear have hemorrhaged.
B) There may be water in the stomach and duodenum.
C) Algae and other marine particles may be found in the stomach and adhering to the sides of the air passages.
D) All of the preceding may be found in a drowning victim.

Question 17

Which of the following is a characteristic of an entry gunshot wound?

A) The wound is usually larger than exit wounds.
B) The wound is normally smaller in diameter than the projectile that makes the wound.
C) The wound does not have a gray ring around it.
D) Entry gunshot wounds to the head are always fatal.

Question 18

Which is the most accurate statement about gun shot residue (GSR)?

A) GSR will tell the investigators is guilty of the crime
B) GSR will tell investigators if someone has handled a firearm or come into contact with something that was near a firearm discharge
C) GSR will remain on the hands for up to a week
D) None of the above are correct

Question 19

Which of the following statements about a bullet entry wound is not correct?

A) The entry wound is smaller than the diameter of a bullet.
B) The slower the bullet speed, the smaller the entry wound.
C) In a favorable case, the rifling marks on the bullet leave such a distinct mark in the contusion ring that the number of groves in the rifling can be counted.
D)) All of the preceding are correct statements.

Question 20

The individual best suited to conduct autopsies is a(n)

A) endocrinologist.
B) pediatrician.
C) forensic pathologist.
D) toxicologist.

Question 21

________ wounds are suffered by victims attempting to protect themselves from an assault,often by a knife or club.

Question 22

In the attempt to determine time of death,several physic-chemical changes are used.These are

A) algor mortis, rigor mortis and tigor mortis
B) rigor mortis, tigor mortis and livor mortis
C) algor mortis, rigor mortis and livor mortis
D) tigor mortis, algor mortis and livor mortis

Question 23

While in most cases of ________ strangulation,the assailant uses more force than is necessary to subdue and kill the victim,hence,marks of violence are frequently present on the skin of the neck.

Question 24

A contact bullet wound is made when the muzzle of the weapon is pressed against the body when the shot is fired.

Question 25

When a bullet penetrates the skin,the skin is pressed inward,stretched,and perforated in the stretched position.The entrance wound will be larger than the exit wound because the bullet deforms after stretching the skin and there will not be as much of the bullet to exit the body.

Question 26

The investigation of felonious injuries and criminal homicides are viewed as among the most serious offenses committed in our society even though the "weak" penalties do not reflect society's concerns.

Question 27

Which one of the following is not the typical type of offense reported to the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime for analysis?

A) Sexually oriented murder or assault by mutilation or torture, dismemberment, violent sexual trauma, or asphyxiation
B) Mass murder
C) Robbery, murder, and nonfatal robbery with extreme violence
D) Bank robbery in which the teller was murdered

Question 28

The weapon most frequently used in assaults resulting in ________ wounds once was the ice pick but is less common today.

Question 29

In a close shot,powder residues occur on the object fired at in the form of incompletely and completely burned powder.

Question 30

For the investigator,a major concern in an apparent suicide case is to make certain that the death was self-induced and not the result of a ________ .

Question 31

The maggot infested remains of a body can still provide an estimate of the time of death.This is accomplished by inspection of the blow flies on the body and an analysis of the oldest insect stage.

Question 32

Using a dead body checklist will help to ensure that all physical evidence is collected.

Question 33

Shotgun pellets very rarely exit the body except when used as instruments of suicide in the chest region.

Question 34

Bacteria inhabit the body and after death,they proliferate.The different rates and types of decomposition a body undergoes depend on the environment and all areas may not deteriorate at the same rate.

Question 35

After death,the muscles of a body initially become flaccid,within 1-3 hours,they become increasingly rigid and the joints freeze.This is a condition called algor mortis.

Question 36

The so-called pugilistic attitude of the body is

A) a natural result of the dehydrating effect caused by the heat from the fire.
B) an indicator that the victim was attempting to fight off his attacker when he died.
C) commonly seen in older victims but less common in those under the age of 45.
D) may be any of the preceding depending on the temperature of the fire and how long the victim was alive after the fire began.

Question 37

Which of the following are myths about serial killers?

A) Serial killers are always a white male
B) Serial killers are all dysfunctional loners
C) All serial killers are motivated by sex
D) All of the above are myths

Question 38

Hangings are sometimes accidental.The individual may have himself in a modified hanging position while masturbating and accidentally slip resulting in death known as ________.

Question 39

Determination of the time of death or the interval between the time of death and the time that a body is found can be difficult.A forensic pathologist attempts to determine the time of death as accurately as possible,realizing that such a determination is only a best estimate.

Question 40

Homicides are divided into two broad categories which are

A) Murder and attempted murder
B) Felonious and nonfelonious homicides
C) Murder and homicide
D) None of the above are correct

Question 41

Small vessels in the eye bleeding owing to an increase in blood pressure caused by compression around the neck is ________ hemorrhaging.

Question 42

The ingestion of liquid ________ is sometimes clear from outward signs on the body,causing considerable damage to lips,tongue,and mouth.

Question 43

______________ is described as a number of murders (four or more)occurring during the same incident,with no distinctive time period between the murders.

Question 44

What is forensic entomology and what role can be played by entomologists in estimating time of death?

Question 45

The so-called ________ attitude of the body is a natural result of the dehydrating effect caused by the heat from the fire and is not related to the cause or manner of death.

Question 46

Burns are medically classified into four types.________ burns are superficial and limited to the outer layers of skin.

Question 47

What are the four degrees of burning?

Question 48

How is death produced by manual strangulation?

Question 49

Discuss the sexual differences in suicidal behavior between men and women.

Question 50

What are the purposes of an autopsy and what questions may the autopsy also answer?

Question 51

What are the types of offenses and incidents that must be reported to the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime for examination?

Question 52

Discuss why estimating the time of death can be problematic.

Question 53

What are the common motives in fire deaths?

Question 54

Discuss the differences between felonious and nonfelonious homicide.

Question 55

Describe an incised wound,stab wound,and laceration.