Procedures Involved in Investigating a Death
All of you CSI fans have watched the TV show and have heard of terminologies professed by the medical examiner such as the "cause of death," the "mechanism of death," and the "manner of death" in an individual whose body is discovered at a crime scene.
When investigating the death of a person, the medical examiner must undergo three different steps.
The medical examiner must determine the: 1.
cause of death 2.
mechanism of death, and 3.
manner of death.
Just exactly what is meant by the phrase "cause of death?"How do medical examiners classify a death?What are the possibilities that could lead to a death? In a nutshell, the reason that a person died is what defines the cause of death.
Some possibilities that lead to a death are blunt force trauma, a gunshot wound, or a heart attack.
These are pathologies or injuries that lead to death.
As an example, a bullet through the heart is a cause of death that could lead to bleeding or infection, two "mechanisms of death.
"The mechanism of death refers to the actual physiological change in the body that causes a human life to come to an abrupt halt.
When a medical examiner autopsies a body on the slab, he must ascertain the cause of death, mechanism of death, and subsequently classify the death in one of four different manners.
What are the four different manners of death? The "manner of death" refers to the root cause of the sequence of events that lead to death.
It attempts to answer the following questions: •How and why did these events take place? •Who or what started the events and with what intent? •Was the death caused by the victim, another individual, an unfortunate circumstance, or a will of God? Upon answering these questions, the medical examiner then must then classify the death in one of four different manners: a.
Homicidal deaths:deaths that occur at the hand of another human being than the deceased.
b.
Suicidal deaths:deaths caused by the victim's own hand such as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, drug overdose, and self-hangings.
c.
Accidental deaths:deaths resulting from an unpremeditated and unpredictable sequence of events such as falls, in-home electrocutions, and motor vehicle accidents.
d.
Natural deaths:deaths caused by the will of God in that the death is a result of a pathological process.
Examples of this include heart attacks, pneumonia, cancers, and strokes.
This category is the largest category of death that the medical examiner sees.
Natural deaths make up about half the cases investigated.
There is an optional fifth manner of death called unclassified death.
This is a situation in which the medical examiner can not ascertain the appropriate category because circumstances surrounding the death involve a combination of the aforementioned four.
The next time you watch CSI, you will be better cognizant about the procedures involved in the death of an individual.
When investigating the death of a person, the medical examiner must undergo three different steps.
The medical examiner must determine the: 1.
cause of death 2.
mechanism of death, and 3.
manner of death.
Just exactly what is meant by the phrase "cause of death?"How do medical examiners classify a death?What are the possibilities that could lead to a death? In a nutshell, the reason that a person died is what defines the cause of death.
Some possibilities that lead to a death are blunt force trauma, a gunshot wound, or a heart attack.
These are pathologies or injuries that lead to death.
As an example, a bullet through the heart is a cause of death that could lead to bleeding or infection, two "mechanisms of death.
"The mechanism of death refers to the actual physiological change in the body that causes a human life to come to an abrupt halt.
When a medical examiner autopsies a body on the slab, he must ascertain the cause of death, mechanism of death, and subsequently classify the death in one of four different manners.
What are the four different manners of death? The "manner of death" refers to the root cause of the sequence of events that lead to death.
It attempts to answer the following questions: •How and why did these events take place? •Who or what started the events and with what intent? •Was the death caused by the victim, another individual, an unfortunate circumstance, or a will of God? Upon answering these questions, the medical examiner then must then classify the death in one of four different manners: a.
Homicidal deaths:deaths that occur at the hand of another human being than the deceased.
b.
Suicidal deaths:deaths caused by the victim's own hand such as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, drug overdose, and self-hangings.
c.
Accidental deaths:deaths resulting from an unpremeditated and unpredictable sequence of events such as falls, in-home electrocutions, and motor vehicle accidents.
d.
Natural deaths:deaths caused by the will of God in that the death is a result of a pathological process.
Examples of this include heart attacks, pneumonia, cancers, and strokes.
This category is the largest category of death that the medical examiner sees.
Natural deaths make up about half the cases investigated.
There is an optional fifth manner of death called unclassified death.
This is a situation in which the medical examiner can not ascertain the appropriate category because circumstances surrounding the death involve a combination of the aforementioned four.
The next time you watch CSI, you will be better cognizant about the procedures involved in the death of an individual.
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