Death: Manner, Cause and

MechanismNotes on page 69

Simply put, the end of life◦ The irreversible cessation of circulation of blood

Heart stops beating and cannot be restarted When the heart stops beating, the body

cannot transport oxygen to all its cells and the cells start to die

What is death?

Stoppage◦ Nerves, muscles, organs and the

brain stop working because of the lack of oxygen

Autolysis◦ Breakdown of cells (cannot be

restarted)◦ Cell membrane dissolves,

enzymes and cell contents spill out and digest surrounding tissues

Stages of death

Who performs the autopsy?◦ The pathologist (medical examiner, coroner)

Conducted to determine manner, cause and mechanism of death

Careful and detailed medical examination of a person’s body and organs

Each organ is removed and examined Tissue samples are taken

After death – the autopsy

The general ways a person can die◦ Natural – caused by interruption and failure of

body functions resulting from age or disease◦ Accidental – caused by unplanned events◦ Suicide – occurs when someone purposefully kills

oneself◦ Homicide – death of one person caused by

another person◦ Undetermined – based on the facts of the case

and the autopsy, the pathologist cannot determine manner of death

Manner of death

1. A man with a heart condition is attacked and dies from a heart attack during the assault. Is the manner of death accident or homicide?

2. An elderly woman dies after being kept from receiving proper health care by her son. Is the manner of death natural or homicide?

3. A person has been found with an overturned, empty bottle of pills. Is the manner of death suicide or accidental?

Consider these situations

The reason someone dies◦ Natural: heart disease, cancer, stroke, physical

injury, heart attack, disease◦ Accidental: Car accident, fall from a ladder,

struck by lightning◦ Suicide: Hanging, overdose, gunshot◦ Homicide: Bludgeoning, shooting, burning,

drowning, strangulation, suffocation Each cause of death brings about a

physiological change in the body

Cause of death

The specific physiological change in the body that brought about the cessation of life◦ Example: If the cause of death was a shooting,

the mechanism could be loss of blood (exsanguination) or cessation of brain function

◦ Example: If the cause of death was massive trauma from a car accident, the mechanism could be pulmonary arrest (lungs stopped working)

◦ Example: If the cause of death is a drug overdose, a cardiac arrhythmia usually occurs (change in the heart rate)

Mechanism of death