Revision Questions
Study Unit 1:
1. Classify unnatural deaths.
2. Why is the sudden and unexpected death
of a person always treated as an unnatural death? Can these deaths also include
natural causes?
3. A person under the influence of alcohol
is involved in a motor vehicle accident and sustains multiple injuries. During
his stay in the intensive care unit, ventilation is necessary due to his
injuries. He develops a lung infection (pneumonia) and dies due to lung
(respiratory) failure. What is the primary cause of death? What will you regard
as the terminal cause of death? And the mechanisms of death? Are there any
predisposing causes?
4. In those cases where there are minimal
or no signs of trauma to the body of the deceased, such as drowning, certain
evidence may be of value to determine the cause of death. Discuss this
statement.
5. Which
findings must be made by the judicial officer during an inquest?
Study
Unit 3:
1. The body of a murdered person is found
in the open veld. It is still warm on contact, but rigor mortis has already
developed. How long do you estimate the post-mortem interval to be? What
factors may affect the rate of cooling of the body?
2. The body of a person who allegedly
drowned is retrieved from water. A branch of a tree is tightly gripped in the
hand. How will you interpret this?
3. A female dies a day after having been
severely assaulted by her spouse. During the post-mortem examination blue or
reddish blue marks are present over the back. The pathologist is convinced that
this is only due to hypostasis. How should this case be managed?
Study Unit 4:
1. How should a commercial passenger
aircraft accident be managed, with specific reference to the identification of
the passengers and crew?
2. Discuss
the two basic principles used in identification of bodies.
Study
Unit 5:
1. A person presents with a linear wound to
his head. He alleges that he was hit with a panga, although there is also
evidence that he was only hit on the head with a hard piece of wood (plank).
How will you differentiate between these two wounds?
2. You are involved in a trial where the
victim was an elderly female who was murdered. The post-mortem report states
that numerous bruises/contusions were present over the chest, and there were
also fractures of the ribs and sternum. These fractures were surrounded by
fresh haemorrhages. The defence alleges that these injuries were caused by
attempts at resuscitation by the assailant, and not by the assault itself. How
can the pathologist refute this allegation?
3. You are involved in a trial where the
victim had allegedly died of a stab-wound. What are the most important features
regarding this wound which you would look for in the post-mortem report.
Study unit 6:
1. During a fight one person stabs the other
in the neck. While they are still standing upright and arguing, the stabbed
individual collapses and dies almost immediately. How should the pathologist
approach this death?
2. A scuba diver surfaces, coughs blood and
dies. What condition will the pathologist have to consider? What other
complications may also be caused by this mechanism?
Study Unit 7:
1. A 60 year old alcoholic falls and hits
his head while under the influence of alcohol. He is admitted to the local
casualty department. Discuss possible head injuries which may be caused by such
a fall, as well as the problems which may confront the doctor in diagnosing
this condition.
2. A patient with a skull fracture over the
temporal bone is initially apparently normal, but over a period of 12 hours
becomes gradually more confused and drowsy. He dies before treatment can be
administered. Discuss the probable cause of death.
Study unit 8:
1. During a court case the one party
alleges that the dark blue discoloration of the hands and feet of the
deceased's body (cyanosis) is a definite sign that the person was throttled.
How would you deal with this statement?
2. During cleaning of a wine tank, one of
the workers dies while climbing into the tank. What is the probable cause of
death?
3. A person is throttled with the hands
during an assault. What could be the causes of death?
4. The body of a young man is found in
weird circumstances. There is a rope with a sliding knot around his neck. The
body is naked and pornographic material is present on the scene. With what
phenomenon are we faced here?
5. Which risk factors may increase the risk
of death during the application of a neck grip?
6. A person may die during immersion with
or without aspiration of water. What are the causes of death in these two
groups of death?
Study Unit 9:
1. Correlate the products produced during
the firing of a cartridge with their possible effect and appearance on the skin
of the victim.
2. The examination of a firearm entrance
wound shows an oval-shaped central defect surrounded by an irregular abrasion
ring, which is wider on the right-hand aspect of the wound. There are no signs
of soot deposits or singeing/burning of the skin, but tattooing is present.
This is also irregularly distributed, with a more concentrated distribution
over the right-hand aspect compared with the left side. What conclusions can be
drawn from this?
3. Discuss the unique appearance of a
contact firearm entrance wound to the head.
4. Examination of the victim of a shotgun
shooting accident shows a central defect with a crenated margin surrounded by
smaller individual entrance wounds. The distance between the peripheral wounds
is 30 cm. From how far do you think the firearm was fired?
Study Unit 10:
1. Discuss hypothermia and hyperthermia due
to exposure to abnormally low and high environmental temperatures.
2. Discuss the post-mortem findings in a
burn victim, including problems which may arise during identification. Discuss
how you will determine whether the victim was alive when the fire started.
3. Discuss factors which may have an effect
when an individual is accidentally exposed to a domestic electrical current.
4. A scuba diver surfaces. He coughs blood
and dies instantly. What is the most probable cause?
Study Unit 11:
1. Which factors will influence the
intensity of a reaction which a person may experience after exposure to a
specific drug or substance?
2. Discuss the effects of carbon monoxide
on the physiological functions of the human body.
3. Discuss the factors which may influence
the absorption of alcohol from the gastro-intestinal tract.
4. The legally acceptable blood-alcohol
level is 0,05 g%. Does any risk of danger and even death exist at a
blood-alcohol concentration lower than this legal limit?
5. An 80 kg female is arrested for alleged
driving under the influence of alcohol. Her blood-alcohol concentration is 0,14
g%. She alleges that she consumed three glasses of white wine, the last one two
hours before arrest. How will you confirm or refute her statement regarding
alcohol consumption?
6. How will the alcohol level of a deceased
driver in a fatal motor accident be determined?
Study Unit 12:
1. A young female undergoes a criminal
abortion and dies during the procedure. Discuss the possible causes of her
death. Discuss also how a post-mortem examination may be of assistance in
determining the cause of death.
2. A pregnant female in her last trimester
of pregnancy dies suddenly and unexpectedly. Which possibilities must be
considered?
Study Unit 13:
1. Which questions must be answered in
cases where a new born baby is found dead and it is obvious that the birth was
concealed?
2. A boy, three years of age, presents in
the trauma unit with a fracture of the skull and vague history of a fall off a
chair.
a. Which condition must be considered by the medical
practitioner?
b. Which other injuries must be excluded?
c. What is the medical practitioner's legal obligation?
3. A baby of four months of age dies
unexpectedly in the cot. How should such death be managed?
4. In cases of cot death the cause of death
is obvious. Discuss this statement.
Study Unit 14:
1.
Discuss the injuries which may be
present in cases of rape.
2.
The absence of spermatozoa in the
female genital tract or vagina excludes rape. Discuss this statement.
THE END
