Life Science Dictionary11 terms

Forensic Medicine Terms

Forensic medicine applies medical science to questions of law, above all how and when a person died. These terms cover the autopsy, the changes in a body after death, from rigor mortis and livor mortis to putrefaction, estimating the time since death, toxicology and DNA profiling.

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Algor mortisForensic MedicineAlgor mortis is the gradual cooling of a body after death until it matches the temperature of its surroundings, used to estimate time since death.
AsphyxiaForensic MedicineAsphyxia is a life-threatening state in which the body is starved of oxygen, usually as carbon dioxide builds up, because breathing or oxygen use fails.
AutopsyForensic MedicineAn autopsy is a medical examination of a body after death, inside and out, to find the cause of death and study the effects of disease or injury.

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DNA profilingForensic MedicineDNA profiling is a laboratory method that identifies a person from highly variable regions of their DNA, used in forensics and kinship testing.

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Forensic entomologyForensic MedicineForensic entomology is the use of insects found on bodies or at scenes to answer legal questions, especially how long a person has been dead.

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Livor mortisForensic MedicineLivor mortis is the purplish-red discoloration that appears in the lowest parts of a body after death as blood settles under the pull of gravity.

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Rigor mortisForensic MedicineRigor mortis is the temporary stiffening of muscles after death, caused by loss of ATP, which leaves myosin locked onto actin until muscle proteins break down.

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ToxicologyPharmacologyToxicology is the science of poisons: how chemicals and other agents harm living things, at what doses, and how poisoning is detected and treated.

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