| A | B |
|---|
| algor mortis | Postmortem changes that cause a body to lose heat |
| autopsy | medical dissection and examination of a body in order to determine the cause of death |
| buccal swab | A swab of the inner portion of the cheek; cheek cells are usually collected to determine the DNA profile of an individual |
| chain of custody | A list of all people who came into possession of an item of evidence |
| finished sketch | A precise rendering of the crime scene, usually drawn to scale |
| livor mortis | the medical condition that occurs after death and results in the settling of blood in areas of the body closest to the ground |
| physical evidence | Any object that can establish that a crime has been committed or can link a crime and its victim or its perpetrator |
| rigor mortis | The medical condition that occurs after death and results in the stiffening of body parts in the position they are in when death occurs |
| rough sketch | A draft representation drawn at the crime scene of all essential information and measurements at a crime scene |
| standard/reference sample | Physical evidence whose origin is known, such as blood or hair from a suspect, that can be compared to crime-scene evidence |
| substrate control | Uncontaminated surface material close to an area where physical evidence has been deposited, used to ensure that the surface on which a sample has been deposited does not interfere with laboratory tests |
| physical evidence | all and any objects that can establish a crime has been committed, can link a crime and its victim, or can link a crime and its perpetrator |
| spiral search pattern | starts at the center and works outward or start at the perimeter and works toward the center of crime scene |
| Strip/Parallel/Line Search Pattern | team form a line and walk in a straight line, at the same speed, from one end to the other |
| Grid Search Pattern | simply two parallel searches, offset by 90 degrees, performed one after the other |
| Quadrant/Zone Search Pattern | the crime scene divided into sectors, and each team member takes one sector, team members may then switch sectors and search again to ensure complete coverage |
| forensic pathologist | medical examiner or coroner who performs autopsy to determine cause of death in suspicious or unexplained deaths |
| vitreous potassium levels | used to estimate time of death based on [K] in fluid in eyeball, uses formula (7.14 x [K]) – 39.1 = hours since death |
| forensic anthropology | identification and examination of human skeletal remains |
| initial decay stage of decomposition | (0-3 days) bacteria digest intestines, flies lay eggs around wounds and orifices |
| putrification stage of decomposition | (4-10 days) anaerobic bacteria releases gases (methane, cadaverine, putrisine) which inflate body, maggots move through body |
| black putrification stage of decomposition | (10-20 days) skin bursts, body collapses, flesh cream, air exposed flesh blackens, maggots leave body to pupate, beetles and wasps enter tissues |
| butyric fermentation stage of decomposition | (20-50 days) most of flesh gone, cheese odor from butyric acid, beetle larvae replace maggots |
| dry decay stage of decomposition | (50-365 days) body dry slow decay continues, hair decays and fed on by moths, only bones remain |
| forensic entomology | use of the insects, and their arthropod relatives that inhabit decomposing remains to aid legal investigations to estimate the postmortem interval based on the age of the insect present and the species of insect present |
| molting (ecdysis) | process of insect growth involving the shedding old skin and growing new larger one |
| stadium | period of time between two molts |
| instar | name give to insect between molts |
| gradual metamorphosis (hemimetabolous) | insect life cycle in which immature forms and adults utilize the same food source (egg-nymph-adult) |
| complete metamorphosis (holometabolous) | insect life cycle in which immature forms and adults utilize different food sources (egg-larva-pupa-adult) |
| oviparous | insects that lay eggs |
| ovoviviparous | insects whose eggs hatch within the female body to release live larva |
| blow flies | first insects to colonize corpse, blue/green metallic bodies, females capable of flying 20 km to find body |
| flesh flies | second insects to colonize corpse, striped bodies and red eyes |
| rave and hister beetles | putrification stage beetles feed on fly maggots |
| hide and ham beetles | dry decay stage beetles feed on skin and tendons of corpse |
| parasitic wasps (Ichneimonidae) | lay eggs on fly larva and pupa |
| moths | last insects to colonize, feed on hair/fur |
