Legal Medicine Review Questions WITH KEY ANSWER

Legal Medicine Review Questions 2009 Dr. Raquel Fortun 51. 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 52. 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 53. 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 54. 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 55. 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 56. 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 57. 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 58. 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 witness 59. 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 60. 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 61. 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 62. 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 63. A criminalist A. is a criminologist B. is a crime investigator C. studies criminals and their behavior D. is a criminal profiler 64. Wet blood stains are best preserved by A. freezing B. drying C. irradiating D. all of the above 65. 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 66. 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 67. 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 68. 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 69. When estimating postmortem interval, which of the following is least useful? A. gastric contents B. insect colonies C. rectal temperature D. postmortem hypostasis 70. Estimation of age can be done through

A. fingerprints B. tattoos C. dentition D. DNA analysis 71. Individualization of a person can best be achieved by A. fingerprinting B. hair analysis C. both A and B D. none of the above 72. The measurement of physical features for individualization is known as A. sociology B. anthropology C. profiling D. bertillonage 73. 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 74. Marking injuries on a reference anatomic diagram best illustrates A. the position of the assailant during the assault B. the position of the victim during the assault C. intent of the assailant to maim or kill D. the distribution of the injuries on the body 75. 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 lefthanded C. the type of weapon used D. the motive for the attack 76. If a scalp wound shows intact hair follicles, crushed margins, and intact tissue strands across the wound, it must be A. an incised wound B. a laceration C. a superficial cut D. a projectile injury 77. 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 78. 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 79. 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 80. 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 81. 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 82. 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 83. Close range of fire in gunshot wounds is best indicated by A. collar of abrasion around the entrance wound B. stippling or tattooing C. soot deposits in the entrance wound D. the shooter’s actual confession 84. 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 85. The appearance of handgun wounds is affected by the following except A. hot gases B. smoke C. unburnt propellant D. wad 86. “Defense” gunshot wounds are recognized as such mainly because of their A. location B. range of fire C. number D. all of the above 87. 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 88. 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 89. Signs of recent injury to the hymen except A. edema B. redness C. lacerations D. dilatation 90. 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 91. 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 92. 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 93. The following are seen in badly burned bodies except A. heat fractures B. pugilistic attitude C. skin splitting D. no exception 94. 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 95. Ejection of vehicle occupants onto the road is due to the following except A. non-restraint from non-use of seat belts B. open or absent windows and doors C. doors bursting open upon impact D. no exception 96. Motorcycles are inherently dangerous because A. Head injuries also occur despite the use of a helmet. B. This type of vehicle is unstable because it is 2-wheeled. C. They are frequently driven at high speed. D. All are true. 97. 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 98. 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 99. An adult pedestrian hit by a large vehicle such as a bus or truck A. will likely be "scooped up" B. will likely have bumper injuries and have his feet knocked from under him C. will likely have injuries positioned higher in the chest, arms or head D. none of the above 100. The telltale signs of child abuse are most typically seen in the A. skin and bones B. bones and internal organs

C. eyes and skin D. mouth and genitalia