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Medical Forensics - Assignment
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Added on 2020-04-15
Medical Forensics - Assignment
Added on 2020-04-15
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Running head: MEDICAL FORENSICS ASSIGNMENTANALYSIS OF MECHANISM OF DEATH and PERIOD OF SURVIVAL-A Case StudyName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
MEDICAL FORENSICS ASSIGNMENTDetermining the mechanism of death, for corpses recovered from the water is acomplicated process that requires the identification of different mechanisms that can lead todeath. Death by drowning might not be the only mechanism, other possibilities includeHypothermia, Secondary Drowning, Infections, Neurogenic Cardiac Arrest, or Due to injuriessustained before or while entering water. Various physiological evidences can be used toascertain if the death occurred prior or after entering water, and post mortem laboratoryanalysis of foreign substances found in the body, can help to identify the time of death andeven the location where the body drowned (Immersion submersion and drowning, 2017).The purpose of this assignment is to identify and differentiate the mechanism of deathand period of survival in 3 cases of death caused by person falling overboard a yacht, andidentifying any significant changes in the causation if the incident occurred in 3 differentlocations.56° 05’ N, 03° 00’ W (Firth of Forth off Port Edgar, Edinburgh) - where thetemperature fluctuates between 1 to 9 degree Celsius, and sometimes dips below the freezingpoint.27° 47’ N, 82° 52’ W (Gulf of Mexico, off Tampa) - where the temperature fluctuatesbetween 15 to 26 degree Celsius.43° 04’ N, 86° 20’ W (Lake Michigan, off Grand Haven) - where the temperature isoften below zero to maximum average of 6 degrees.Case #1: Death of a 65 year old wearing a life jacket:Possible Mechanism of Death:Scenario #1: The incident occurred at 56° 05’ N, 03° 00’ W (Firth of Forth off PortEdgar, Edinburgh)
MEDICAL FORENSICS ASSIGNMENTSince the deceased was wearing a life jacket when he fell into the water, this caneliminate the possibilities of death by drowning, and a sudden onset of hypothermia in coldwater. It can be presumed that Neurogenic Cardiac Arrest to have occurred triggered by anover active parasympathetic nervous response (to cold water) and a subsequent bradycardia,which might have been caused due to the age and cardiac activity of the victim (Martinez &Hooper, 2014). The slowing down of the heart can further reduce the blood supply to cardiacmuscles. Cardiac arrest can occur through the 10th cranial nerve nucleus and the vagus nerve.This MOD can be ascertained the the absence of water in the lungs and air passage, andexclusions of other possibilities like secondary drowning, injury, or disease.The period of survival of such a scenario can be from a few minutes to less than 45minutes (at which hypothermia could kick in) Andrews et al (2017).Scenario #2: Incident occurred in 27° 47’ N, 82° 52’ W (Gulf of Mexico, off Tampa).Since the deceased fell into warmer waters (wearing life jacket), hypothermia orNeurogenic cardiac arrest seems unlikely. Secondary drowning could be ruled out, since thedeath is likely to have occurred in the water. The possible cause of death could be an injurycausing the drowning of the victim. Signs of drowning can be evidenced by the presence ofwater in the lungs, diatoms in lungs and circulatory system and cadaveric spasms (Fucci etal, 2017; Ferro, 2013). Macerations of the skin and decomposition can point out how muchtime might have elapsed since the death (Petekkaya, Dogan, Ayaz & Celbis, 2016).The period of survival in case of drowning as generally very short (less than 5minutes), due to fatal effect of lack of oxygenation to the brain (which causes immediateblackout, and death) (Byard, 2015).
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