| algor mortis | The decrease in body temperature that occurs after death.
|
 |
|
|
| autopsy | The medical examination of a body to determine the time, and cause, of death; required in all cases of violent or suspicious death.
|
|
|
|
| cadaveric spasm | The instantaneous tightening of an extremity or other part of the body at the time of death. Also called death grip.
|
|
|
|
| defense wound | Wounds suffered by victims while attempting to protect themselves from an assault; often inflicted by a knife or club.
|
|
|
|
| excusable homicide | The killing of a person in which the slayer is to some degree at fault but the degree of fault is not enough to constitute a criminal homicide.
|
|
|
|
| felonious assaults | An assault committed for the purpose of inflicting severe bodily harm or death; usually involves use of a deadly weapon.
|
|
|
|
| felonious homicide | Killings that are treated and punished as crimes; includes murder and manslaughter.
|
|
|
|
| forensic pathology | The study, by physicians, of how and why people die; can also include examination of the living to determine physical or sexual abuse.
|
|
|
|
| homicide | The killing of a human being by another human being; can be felonious or nonfelonious.
|
|
|
|
| justifiable homicide | The necessary killing of a person in the performance of a legal duty or the exercise of a legal right when the slayer is not at fault.
|
|
|
|
| laceration | Wounds inflicted by blunt objects such as clubs, pipes, and pistols; typically open and irregularly shaped, bruised around the edges, and bleeding freely.
|
|
|
|
| ligature strangulation | Pressure on the neck applied by a constricting band that is tightened by a force other than body weight; causes death by occluding the blood vessels that supply oxygen to the brain.
|
|
|
|
| livor mortis | Soon after death, a purplish color that appears under the skin on the portions of the body that are closest to the ground; caused by settling of the blood.
|
|
|
|
| manslaughter | A criminal homicide that is committed under circumstances not severe enough to constitute murder but that cannot be classified as justifiable or excusable.
|
|
|
|
| puncture wound | Wounds inflicted with piercing instruments such as leather punches, screwdrivers, and ice picks; typically small, with little or no bleeding.
|