1.

Objectives of a death investigation system,

except:
A. determination of cause and manner of death
B. determination of fact of death
C. identification of the deceased
D. no exception
2. When investigating a death, the following is
useful
A. witness accounts
B. past medical history
C. circumstances of the death
D. all of the above
3. Which of the following is mandated by law in
most places, with consent unnecessary?
A. Hospital/clinical autopsy
B. Forensic/medico-legal autopsy
C. Both
D. Neither
4. Deaths which require further investigation
include the following except
A. all vehicular accidents
B. all deaths of inmates, incarcerated or
institutionalized individuals
C. all deaths within 24 hours of hospital stay
D. all deaths occurring in the work-place
 Deaths which are
sudden, violent, unexplained, occurring under
suspicious circumstances

INVESTIGATE
5. Examination of a dead body at the scene
includes the following except
A. fingerprinting
B. preliminary assessment of the wounds if
any
C. observations regarding algor, rigor and livor
mortis
D. documentation of the body’s position
6. Personal property found on or with a dead
body
A. must be turned over to the police as
evidence
B. must be described and inventoried
C. must be buried or cremated with the body
D. all of the above
7. An 85-year old male was found dead in bed one
morning. Relatives said he was well although
noted to be getting less mobile, sleeping more
and eating less because of old age. The cause of
death is
A. “Cardiorespiratory arrest”
B. “Old age” as underlying cause
C. “Senility” as underlying cause
D. “Unknown natural causes” as underlying cause
• The UNDERLYING CAUSE of DEATH is that
which started the train of events leading to
the patient’s death.
– It should be written at the lowest portion of
Part I of the Death Certificate.
• “Cardiorespiratory Arrest” as cause of death is
discouraged.
• “Senility” is not accepted as cause of death.
• You can specify old age as the underlying
cause of death, but you should also mention
in part one or part two, as appropriate, any
medical or surgical conditions that may have
contributed to the death
• How old is old? >80 years
Avoid 'old age' alone
manchester.gov.uk

Old age should only be given as the sole cause of

death in very limited circumstances. These are
that:
– You have personally cared for the deceased over a
long period (years, or many months)
– You have observed a gradual decline in your patient's
general health and functioning
– You are not aware of any identifiable disease or injury
that contributed to the death
– You are certain that there is no reason that the death
should be reported to the coroner
8. If a surgeon testifies in court regarding some
purely factual evidence regarding his surgical
procedure he/she is
A. a medical witness
B. an ordinary witness
C. an expert witness
D. a professional (or fact) witness
9. A patient in the emergency room dies of
injuries and the attending physician orders
“postmortem care.” Which of the following is
acceptable?
A. undressing and washing the body
B. removal of tubes, IV lines
C. tying the jaw, wrists and ankles, and taping
the lids
D. none of the above
10. A patient operated on for an elective
procedure suffers from cardiorespiratory
arrest intraoperatively and does not recover.
Investigation includes
A. a peer review of the surgical and anesthetic
procedures
B. examination of the oxygen tank and tube,
syringes and drug vials
C. a forensic autopsy
D. all of the above
11. Cause of death statements on the death
certificate are most useful for
A. census purposes
B. public health studies
C. criminal investigation
D. settlement of insurance benefits
12. If despite a thorough, objective investigation
a definite manner of death cannot be
arrived at, the death is classified as
A. unknown
B. undetermined
C. unresolved
D. unnatural
13. A criminalist
A. is a criminologist
B. is a crime investigator
C. studies criminals and their behavior
D. is a criminal profiler
14. Wet blood stains are best preserved by
A. freezing
B. drying
C. irradiating
D. all of the above
Dry SWABS thoroughly before
packaging

Biologic samples degrade quickly

when left wet
15. In packaging crime scene evidence, wet
evidence should be
A. dried at the scene and packaged in plastic
B. dried at the scene and packaged in paper
C. dried at the lab and packaged in plastic
D. dried at the lab and packaged in paper
16. A screwdriver used to pick a lock is scratched
and leaves pieces of metal behind. This is an
example of
A. pattern evidence
B. toolmark evidence
C. Locard’s Exchange Principle
D. All of the above
Every contact leaves a trace.

Edmund Locard
17. A special type of microscope that allows two
separate objects to be viewed simultaneously
in the same ocular is known as
A. Compound microscope
B. Dissecting microscope
C. Comparison microscope
D. Scanning electron microscope
18. This type of microscope (No. 17 above) is
used in the forensic analysis of
A. toolmarks
B. hair samples
C. fired cartridge casings
D. All of the above
19. When estimating postmortem interval,
which of the following is least useful?
A. gastric contents
B. insect colonies
C. rectal temperature
D. postmortem hypostasis
20. Estimation of age can be done through
A. fingerprints
B. tattoos
C. dentition
D. DNA analysis
21. Individualization of a person can best be
achieved by
A. fingerprinting
B. hair analysis
C. both A and B
D. none of the above
22. The measurement of physical features for
individualization is known as
A. sociology
B. anthropology
C. profiling
D. bertillonage
Alphonse Bertillon
23. When charred bone fragments were
subjected to DNA analysis the lab report
indicated that “no human DNA was detected.”
This means that
A. the bone fragments are not human
B. the test is inconclusive
C. it is impossible to determine if the bones
are of human origin or not
D. none of the above
24. Marking injuries on a reference anatomic
diagram best illustrates
– the position of the assailant during the
assault
– the position of the victim during the
assault
– intent of the assailant to maim or kill
– the distribution of the injuries on the body
25. Close examination of wounds is important
because they could give information as to
A. the sex of the assailant
B. whether the assailant is right- or left-
handed
C. the type of weapon used
D. the motive for the attack
26. If a scalp wound shows intact hair follicles,
crushed margins, and intact tissue strands
across the wound, it must be
– an incised wound
– a laceration
– a superficial cut
– a projectile injury
27. The dimension of a stab wound most useful
to characterize the nature of the weapon used
to injure a victim is
A. depth
B. width measured with the stab wound
gaping
C. length measured with the wound edges
pushed together
D. all are true
28. The caliber of the bullet can be determined
from
A. the dimensions of the entrance wound
B. the dimensions of the exit wound
C. the abrasion collar
D. none of the above
29. The trajectory of a bullet wound determined
from an autopsy of the body indicates
A. the position of the victim when the
gunshot wound was sustained
B. the position of the shooter
C. whether the shot was intentional or
accidental
D . the bullet’s path inside the body in the
reference anatomic position
30. A self-inflicted intentional gunshot wound of
the right temple implies
A. right hand dominance
B. left hand dominance
C. no relation to the individual’s dexterity
D. probable accidental fire
31. The presence of multiple gunshot wounds
from a handgun
A. is possible in suicide
B. is always homicide
C. is consistent with accidental fire
D. is never self-inflicted
32. Lifting of gunpowder residues with paraffin wax
and testing for nitrates using diphenylamine
A. is a quantitative test
B. is obsolete
C. reliably determines if an alleged shooter fired
a gun or not
D. can be done as long as the test is performed
within 24 hours after the shooting incident
33. Close range of fire in gunshot wounds is best
indicated by
– collar of abrasion around the entrance
wound
– stippling or tattooing
– soot deposits in the entrance wound
– the shooter’s actual confession
 CLOSE

INTERMEDIATE

DISTANT
34. If a projectile injury of the cranium shows an
outer table defect smaller than that of the
inner table (internal beveling), this is
A. an entrance wound
B. an exit wound
C. contact fire
D. caused by a handgun
 ENTRANCE
BEVELING INSIDE
 EXIT
BEVELING OUTSIDE
35. The appearance of handgun wounds is
affected by the following except
– hot gases
– smoke
– unburnt propellant
– wad
SHOTGUN CARTRIDGE
36. “Defense” gunshot wounds are recognized
as such mainly because of their
– location
– range of fire
– number
– all of the above
37. Physical evidence in a shooting incident
includes
A. the skin around an entrance wound
removed during surgical debridement
B. the bullet or bullet fragments recovered
from the body
C. clothing worn by the victim
D. all are true
38. Which of the following is true about
hymenal findings?
A. They can corroborate allegation of
penetration in children
B. They have limited use in confirming sexual
assault in adult women
C. They are difficult to interpret due to
anatomic variations and the inexperience
of the examining physician
D. All are true
39. Signs of recent injury to the hymen except
A. edema
B. redness
C. lacerations
D. dilatation
40. Genital features useful in assessing a
woman’s sexual history
A. hymenal diameter
B. the prominence of the rugosities of the
vaginal mucosa
C. whether the hymen is intact or not
D. none of the above
41. Absence of genital injuries after sexual
assault could be due to
A. a non-resisting victim
B. a non-aggressive assailant
C. limitations of the forensic examination
D. all of the above
42. The best time to perform a forensic sexual
assault examination is
A. right after the incident
B. within 24 hours of the incident
C. not more than 72 hours after the incident
D. anytime; post-injury interval does not
matter
43. The following are seen in badly burned
bodies except
A. heat fractures
B. pugilistic attitude
C. skin splitting
D. no exception
44. A man was found with a horizontal ligature
furrow around his neck. The ligature was not
recovered. This is most consistent with
A. homicidal ligature strangulation
B. suicidal manual strangulation
C. suicidal hanging by ligature
D. accidental autoerotic asphyxia
45. Ejection of vehicle occupants onto the road
is due to the following except
– non-restraint from non-use of seat belts
– open or absent windows and doors
– doors bursting open upon impact
– no exception
46. Motorcycles are inherently dangerous
because
– Head injuries also occur despite the use of
a helmet.
– This type of vehicle is unstable because it
is 2-wheeled.
– They are frequently driven at high speed.
– All are true.
47. Useful reference planes or landmarks when
describing the location of wounds include the
following except
A. top of the head or vertex
B. the umbilicus in the abdomen
C. the anterior or posterior midline
D. no exception
48. Reconstructing the events leading to the
injuries sustained by a victim requires the
following except
A. examination of the clothing worn by the
victim
B. scene investigation
C. testimonial accounts
D. no exception
49. An adult pedestrian hit by a large vehicle
such as a bus or truck
– will likely be "scooped up"
– will likely have bumper injuries and have
his feet knocked from under him
– will likely have injuries positioned higher
in the chest, arms or head
– none of the above
50. The telltale signs of child abuse are most
typically seen in the
– skin and bones
– bones and internal organs
– eyes and skin
– mouth and genitalia