Forensic Science

Vocabulary Unit 6

1. Adipocere - The creation of a waxy substance when there is hydrogenation of the fat in the body.

2. Algor mortis - The gradual cooling of the body after death until it reaches the temperature of the air around it.

3. Bill Bass Founded the Forensic Anthropology Facility.

4. Body Farm - Another name for the Forensic Anthropology Facility.

5. Cause of death - The medical problem that leads to death, such as blunt force trauma, internal bleeding, blood loss, or gunshot.

6. Forensic autopsy - Post-mortem examination.

7. Indicative acts - Actions or behaviors that may have taken place before death (or the absence of these behaviors). 8. Liver mortis - The settling of blood in the lowest parts of the body.

9. Manner of death - This may be suicide or homicide in a forensic autopsy, as opposed to disease or other natural causes.

10. Mechanism of death - Refers to any instrument or weapon used in a death, such as a knife or firearm. 11. Mummification A drying of the body and its tissues.

12. Putrefaction - Occurs because of bacterial activity and includes bloating, gas formation, loss of hair and nails, and skin slippage.

11. Rigor mortis - A relaxation of the body’s muscles after death followed by gradual process of rigidity in the muscles.

13. Skeletonization - Occurs when the soft tissue is removed from the bones.

14. Taphonomy - The study of what happens to animals or humans between the time that they die and the time that their remains are found.

15. University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Facility - One of the first sites of systematic research on the decomposition of human.