BSFS Forensic Pathology and Anthropology 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes the stiffening of muscles that occurs after death due to the depletion of ATP?
- Rigor mortis (Correct answer)
- Livor mortis
- Algor mortis
- Putrefaction
Correct answer: Rigor mortis
Rigor mortis begins 2–6 hours after death, peaks at 12 hours, and resolves by 24–48 hours as muscle proteins break down due to loss of ATP-driven cross-bridge cycling.
Question 2: Livor mortis (lividity) refers to the postmortem settling of blood that causes:
- Purplish-red discoloration of dependent body areas due to gravity-driven blood pooling (Correct answer)
- Generalized green discoloration of the skin
- Whitening of the skin due to blood loss
- Swelling of the extremities from fluid accumulation
Correct answer: Purplish-red discoloration of dependent body areas due to gravity-driven blood pooling
After circulation stops, blood pools in the lowest (dependent) areas of the body under gravity, creating fixed purple-red discoloration that helps estimate time of death and body position.
Question 3: The manner of death refers to:
- The circumstances under which death occurred (natural, accident, homicide, suicide, undetermined) (Correct answer)
- The specific disease or injury that directly caused death
- The medical mechanism by which life ceased
- The physical location where the individual died
Correct answer: The circumstances under which death occurred (natural, accident, homicide, suicide, undetermined)
Manner of death is a medicolegal classification of the circumstances of death, whereas cause of death identifies the specific condition responsible for dying.
Question 4: In forensic anthropology, the 'biological profile' of unidentified skeletal remains includes which four components?
- Sex, age, ancestry, and stature (Correct answer)
- Name, height, weight, and cause of death
- DNA type, blood type, fingerprints, and dentition
- Occupation, health history, geographic origin, and date of death
Correct answer: Sex, age, ancestry, and stature
Forensic anthropologists establish a biological profile by estimating sex from pelvic morphology, age from bone development, ancestry from skull morphology, and stature from long bone lengths.
Question 5: An entrance gunshot wound typically differs from an exit wound in that the entrance wound is usually:
- Smaller, more regular in shape, and may show an abrasion collar (Correct answer)
- Larger with irregular, star-shaped margins
- Always surrounded by stippling regardless of range
- Located exclusively on the dorsal surface of the body
Correct answer: Smaller, more regular in shape, and may show an abrasion collar
Entrance wounds are smaller because the bullet enters in a focused point; the abrasion collar forms as the bullet scrapes skin inward, while exit wounds are larger from tissue displacement.
Question 6: Algor mortis is the postmortem phenomenon used to estimate time of death based on:
- The cooling of the body after death until it equilibrates with ambient temperature (Correct answer)
- The rate of muscle stiffening after death
- Chemical changes in the vitreous humor of the eye
- The degree of putrefactive odor produced
Correct answer: The cooling of the body after death until it equilibrates with ambient temperature
The body cools approximately 1–1.5°C per hour under standard conditions; measuring core body temperature and comparing it to ambient temperature helps estimate postmortem interval.
BSFS Forensic Pathology and Anthropology 1
Which term describes the stiffening of muscles that occurs after death due to the depletion of ATP?