Question | Answer |
the art and science of disinfecting, temporarily preserving, and restoring to a normal appearance a dead human body | embalming |
the destruction or inhibition of pathogenic organisms and their products in or on the body | disinfection |
chemical treatment of the body so as to delay the decomposition of the body for a limited amount of time | temporary preservation |
the care of the deceased to recreate natural form and color-to change the body back to amore normal appearance when the body has become unpleasant | restoration |
use of the circulatory system in the body, injection into an artery, drainage from a vein | arterial embalming |
direct chemical treatment other than by arterial embalming of the contents of the body cavities | cavity embalming |
injection of embalming chemicals directly into the tissues | hypodermic embalming |
direct contact of internal or external body surfaces or tissues with embalming chemicals | surface/topical embalming |
a cotton piece placed directly on the surface of the body and the appropriate chemical is applied-area is preserved by osmosis | surface pack/cavity pack |
cause the breakdown of proteins | enzymes |
a relationship based on trust | fiduciary relationship |
the study of death in all of its aspects | thanatology |
legal definition of death | total cessation of brain function |
a condition in which the heartbeat, respiration, body warmth, and other manifestations of life are very feebly maintained | apparent death |
the sound sometimes made by the dying caused by labored breathing through air passages partly filled by mucus | death rattle |
the semi-convulsive series of movements and facial twitches which may occur before death | death struggle |
that period of time immediately before death | agonal period |
bound for death | moribund |
at the edge of death-statements made at this time are held in great legal weight | in articulo mortis |
the body of a deceased person | human remains |
latin term for a dead body embalmed especially for medical observation | cadaver |
elements of a dead body after cremation | cremated remains |
ratio of the number of deaths over a given period of time to the population of a given area | mortality rate/death rate |
ratio of the number of specific cases of diseases over a given period of time to the population of a given area | morbidity rate |
the death of the whole organism-death of the human body as an autonomous self-sustaining biological unit | somatic death |
cessation of heartbeat and respiration, lasts 5 to 6 minutes, can be reversed | clinical death |
irrevocable death, follows clinical death | biologic death |
stage of death which commences upon the irreversible cessation of brain function | biologic death |
idea by Dr. Bichat, if one of the essential organs fail, the others fail within moments | tripod of life |
death originating in the heart | syncope |
death originating in the brain | coma |
death originating in the lungs | asphyxia |
the death of the individual cells of the body | cellular death |
cause of cellular death, absence of oxygen | anoxia |
antemortem cell death and their replacement by new cells of the same type | necrobiosis |
the pathological death of cells/tissues in a living body | necrosis |
sudden deaths of healthy people, cell death is | slow |
deaths due to chronic diseases, cell death is | rapid |
death of a young person, cell death is | slow |
cold environment, cell death is | slow |
deadly to cells | cytotoxic |
those sensible manifestations that indicate the absence of life in a human | signs of death |
the only reliable sign of death | decomp |
7 signs of death | 1) cessation of heartbeat/respiration, 2) algor mortis, 3) livor mortis, 4) rigor mortis, 5) dehydration, 6) changes in the eye, 7) decomp |
how does the eye change in death? | eye clouds, cornea becomes milky, jelly of eye begins to evaporate |
5 signs of decomp | 1) green color (LRQuadrant), 2) skin slip, 3) purge, 4) gas buildup, 5) odor |
any procedure used to prove a sign of death | test for death |
those tests for death for which medical instruments are necessary | expert test |
5 expert tests for death | 1) stethoscope, 2) opthalmascope, 3) electroencephalograph, 4) electrocardiograph, 5) dye injection |
those tests for death which do not require specific training | inexpert tests |
4 inexpert tests for death | 1) heartbeat/respiration check, 2) ligature test, 3) ammonia injection, 4) pulse test |
the lowering of the body temp just before death | agonal algor |
increase in body temp just before death | agonal fever |
a settling/moving of the blood to the dependent parts AM | agonal hypostasis |
AM clots/congealing of the blood | agonal coagulation |
AM blood vessels expanding to get more oxygen and nutrients | agonal capillary expansion |
AM increase moisture level | agonal edema |
AM drying out of the body | agonal dehydration |
AM bacteria that are normally in the intestines travel outward to find nutrients, immune system breaking down | agonal translocation of bacteria |
term used to describe the faces of the dying, used by Hippocrates | facies hippocratica |
those changes in the body from the molecular to the systemic level that take place after biologic death | post-mortem changes |
the passage of time btw biologic death and the start of the embalming process | PM interval |
those pm changes which involve a change in the location or physical form of a body chemical | pm physical change |
4 PM physical changes | 1) algor mortis, 2) livor mortis, 3) dehydration, 4) increase in blood viscosity |
those pm changes which involve an actual change of identity of chemicals | pm chemical change |
6 pm chemical changes | 1) decomp, 2) change in pH, 3) rigor mortis, 4) PM stain, 5) PM caloricity, 6) hydrolysis |
the PM adjustment of body to that of the surrounding medium | algor mortis |
only way for a body to release heat pm | direct convection through the skin |
rate at which liver loses heat for the first 3 hours pm? for every hour after that? until when? | 4 degrees F / hour for the first 3 hours, 1.5 degrees F for every hour after that until environmental temp is reached |
tall bodies cool_____ than short bodies | slower |
very young and very old cool _____ than those in prime of life | faster |
the pm reddish-blue discoloration of the body due to the hypostasis of blood (6 synonyms) | 1) livor mortis, 2) PM lividity, 3) cadaveric ecchymosis, 4) cadaveric lividity, 5) passive congestion, 6) hypostatic congestion |
the pm gravitation/settling of blood into the dependent parts | hypostasis |
the changes in the color of the skin due to loss of blood pigment | pallor |
is livor mortis intravascular or extravascular | intravascular |
the loss of moisture from the body tissues | dehydration |
extreme dehydration-causes shrivelling and blackening of the tissue | desiccation |
extreme rapid and complete desiccation | mummification |
4 factors that accelerate pm dehydration | 1) refrigeration, 2) hypostasis of blood, 3) air currents, 4) agonal dehydration |
the degree of thickness of a liquid | viscosity |
in a refrigerated environment, blood viscosity is _______, in a temp near 98.6, blood viscosity is ______ | liquid, more viscous |
temporary reduction in the viscosity of blood | hypinosis |
clot that forms the quickest, all blood elements in a homogenous, wet, soft clot, easily moveable by arterial injection | red currant jelly clot/cruror clot |
clot that forms when gravity separates white and red blood cells, form a white-grey clot | chicken fat clot |
clot most likely to stick to vessel walls, likely to form in R atrium of heart, difficult to remove | white fibrin clot |
chemical breakdown of complex molecules into simpler ones | decomposition |
chemicals so simple they can no longer be broken down by normal means | end products |
decomp of proteins | proteolysis |
proteins breakdown into | amino acids |
amino acids break down into | amines, CO2, H2O |
amines (ptomaines) breakdwon into (4) | putrescine, cadaverine, skatole, indole |
hydrogen phosphide, N2, mercaptans, and ammona (and compounds) are examples of what? | amine end products |
most dangerous end product: | ammonia |
type of proteolysis cause by enzymatic breakdown of anaerobic bacteria, usually foul-smelling | putrefaction |
type of proteolysis caused by aerobic bacteria, usually not foul-smelling | decay |
sugars breakdown. what do they breakdown into? | sacchrolysis, carbohydrates and organic acids CO2 and H2O |
sacchrolysis also called _______, causes what adverse effect | fermentation, gas distention |
involving decomp of body fats, what are the end products | lipolysis, fatty acids and glycerol |
if a dead body is buried in direct contact with moist alkaline earth, the adipose tissue can be transformed into | adipocere/grave wax |
process of adipocere formation | saponification |
decomp of cells, self-destruction w/out bacterial influence | autolysis |
cell organelle responsible for autolysis | lysosome |
most saprophytic bacteria thrive in what temperature | 99.5 |
decomp slows at temps above ______ and below _____ | 120, 50 |
first and last organs to decomp | 1) lining of larynx and trachea, 2) non-pregnant uterus |
order of decomp of body tissues | 1) liquid tissues, 2) soft tissues, 3) firm tissues, 4) hard tissues |
blood and lymph fluid are considered ____ tissues | liquid |
special organ tissues that do the function of the organ | parencyma |
organ tissues are considered _____ tissues | soft |
stroma, muscles, tendons are considered _____ tissues | firm |
bones and cartilage are considered _____ tissues | hard |
order of decomp of body compounds | 1) carbohydrates (sacchrolysis), 2) proteins (proteolysis), 3) fats (lipolysis), 4) firm proteins, 5) calcium compounds |
law which describes the relative speed of decomp of an unembalmed body in air, water, or soil | casper's law |
ratio of decomp for air to water to soil | 1:2:8 |
pH of a living body is considered slightly _____, pH of | alkaline, 7.4 |
PM body pH turns | acidic |
PM stiffening of body muscles, both involuntary and voluntary | rigor mortis |
three stages of rigor | 1) primary flaccidity, 2) onset, duration, termination, 3) secondary flaccidity |
5 ways to break rigor | bend, flex, rotate, massage, extend |
rigor begins to appear between ___ and ____ hours after death | 8, 20 |
rigor peaks at ____ hours after onset | 12 |
rigor lasts from ____ to ____ hours after onset | 10, 72 |
involuntary muscles around hair follicles contract, sign of rigor | cutis anserina |
cause of rigor | decomp of ATP |
optimum (for a quick onset and quick duration of rigor) temp | 98-100 degrees |
rigor is quicker in what age groups, rigor is slow onset and long duration in what age range | infants and old people fast and brief, young people and healthy adults slow onset long duration |
a poison that causes convulsions would have what effect on rigor | accelerate |
extreme muscular activity right before death would have what effect on rigor | rapid onset, intense degree of stiffness, brief duration |
a person with a lot of muscle mass at time of death will have what effect on rigor | slow onset, great degree of rigidity, long duration |
what is the order of appearance and disappearance of rigor mortis in the body parts? (9) | 1) eyes/eyelids, 2) back of neck, 3) lower jaw, 4) face, 5) front of neck, 6) chest muscles, 7) arms, 8)trunk, 9) legs |
permanent stiffening and coagulation of muscle tissue where tiss. are exposed to very high heat, mistaken for rigor | heat stiffening |
mistaken for rigor, refrigerated bodies at <40 degrees | cold stiffening |
in living bodies, mistaken for rigor, muscular rigidity that affects the whole body, person appears to be in a death-like coma, but not dead | catalepsy |
a phenomenon in which the last act of life is crystallized in death, mistaken for rigor | cadaveric spasm |
an extravascular blood discoloration, caused by hemolysis (decomp of red blood cells) | PM stain |
causes pm stain | plasma filtration (plasma separating from blood, and blood seeping in intracellular spaces) |
the rise in body temp immediately following somatic death | pm caloricity |
febrile diseases, muscle activity before death, AM disturbance of body heat mechanisms, and sudden deaths are all prone to | pm caloricity |
a breakdown of complex substances into simpler substances when one of the catalysts is water or the elements in water | hydrolysis |
the absorption of water or any liquid by any substance | imbibition |
decomp of a body surrounded by water | maceration |
example of maceration | a fetus dead in utero |
According to OSHA, must keep an MSDS for any solution with ___% or more of any hazardous chemical. | 1% |
According to OSHA, must keep an MSDS for any solution with ___% or more of any carcinogen. | .01% |
for proper prep room ventilation, you should have air pulled from the _____ level and fresh air filtered in from the _____ level | air pulled from the floor level and fresh air filtered in from the ceiling level |