Amber Upton

Forensic Science
z

Insides and
Outsides:
Examining
 z

My Mentor

 Ms. Lindsey Turman is an Autopsy Technician III

at Galveston County Medical Examiners office
where she has worked since 2015- present.
She attended Texas A&M University where she
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Forensic Science. She furthered her education
at Mary-Hardin Baylor University.
z
ISM (Independent Study Mentorship)

 ISM is the Independent Study Mentorship class,

where you must complete 3 hours with your mentor
every week and also 2 hours of personal activity
where you put time towards your project and
researching information. At the end of the semester
we will present a project on our area of study we
are mentoring in to share with the class all you
have learned while your time there. We submit
weekly journal logs of our activities while visiting
our mentor!
 z

Project Topic
 For my mid-term semester project, I have chosen to
learn from my mentor and research the differences
between the three different types of autopsies. I
will be going into detail why a performance of a
certain autopsy is done. There is a full body, partial,
and external autopsy that are preformed for
different cases and causes of death. I chose this
topic so I and my audience could fully understand
the reasoning behind doing a certain autopsy.
 z
FULL BODY AUTOPSY

Internal Examination
 If a complete internal examination is called for, the pathologist removes and dissects the chest, abdominal and pelvic organs, and (if necessary)
the brain. It is unusual to examine the face, arms, hands or legs internally. The cuts into the body produce little blood. Prior to cutting, the torso is
placed on a rubber block, extending the body's arch and providing greater access to the chest and abdomen. If a brain autopsy is also planned,
this block will be moved to support the head once the torso work is finished. The pathologist begins the chest and abdomen autopsy by making a
Y-shaped incision, the two arms of the Y running from each shoulder joint, to meet at mid-chest and the stem of the Y running down to the pubic
region. On women, the two arms of the Y are supposed to curve around under the breast. The next step is to examine the organs in place, which
means removing the rib cage using a saw or a rib cutter. The pathologists cut along the area between the ribs and the cartilage connected to the
breastbone. Alternatively, they might cut the sides of the chest cavity, leaving the ribs attached to the breastbone and removing the entire frontal
ribcage as one chest plate. The abdominal examination begins with a pathologist freeing the intestines by cutting along the attachment tissue
with scissors or a scalpel. If a brain autopsy is called for, the pathologist will make a cut across the crown of the head, from the bony bump
behind one ear to the bump behind the other. He or she will then open the cranium using a special saw that cuts bone but leaves soft tissue
unharmed. Once each organ has been examined within the body, it is removed, weighed and examined in further detail. Sometimes organs are
removed individually, a procedure referred to as the Virchow technique; other times, they are removed as a connected group, via the Rokitansky
technique. Organs, especially the brain, are sometimes placed in formalin for days or even weeks before the dissection is conducted. Formalin
preserves organs while also granting them greater firmness, allowing for neater and more accurate dissections. Brain tissue benefits from
fixation in formalin because its natural texture resembles soft gelatin. Once removed, the lungs may also be inflated with fixative. Tissue samples
are taken from the organs, some of which may be also be sectioned, and stomach contents are frequently tested. Pathologists and lab
technicians also test bodily fluids such as urine, blood, vitreous gel from the eyes, orbile from the gallbladder for drugs, infection, chemical
composition or genetic factors, depending on the purpose of the autopsy. Pathologists will preserve parts of any organs they dissect, particularly
if they find something unusual or abnormal.
 z
PARTIAL AUTOPSY (HEAD)

 Procedure- In a brain autopsy a block will be placed under the head for support. . If a brain
autopsy is called for, the pathologist will make a cut across the crown of the head, from the bony
bump behind one ear to the bump behind the other. He or she will then open the cranium using a
special saw that cuts bone but leaves soft tissue unharmed. Organs, especially the brain, are
sometimes placed in formalin for days or even weeks before the dissection is conducted.
Formalin preserves organs while also granting them greater firmness, allowing for neater and
more accurate dissections. Brain tissue benefits from fixation in formalin because its natural
texture resembles soft gelatin. In this form of autopsy they search for diseases or cancerous
parts that could possibly be in the brain and/ or brain injuries.
 z
EXTERNAL AUTOPSY

Procedure-External examination
The autopsy begins with a careful inspection of the body. This can help
establish identity, locate evidence or suggest a cause of death. The
pathologists weigh and measure the body, noting the subject's clothing,
valuables and characteristics such as eye color, hair color and length,
ethnicity, sex and age. Removing the subject's clothes, they then examine the
body, searching for gunpowder residue, paint flakes or other deposits,
identifying marks such as scars or tattoos, or injuries. X-rays are sometimes
used to reveal bone abnormalities and the locations of bullets or other
objects, and ultraviolet light can help detect certain residues. Pathologists
may also take samples of hair and nails at this time. Throughout the autopsy,
the pathologist records everything on a body diagram and in recorded verbal
notes.
z
TOOLS USED IN FULL AUTOPSY

 Tool- Bone saw

 Job- cut and break bone to gain full access to the area being examined
 Tool- Bread knife
 Job- to slice organs for further examination
 Tool- Hagedorn needle
 Job- sew up body after autopsy
 Tool- Rib cutter
 Job- to cut and break ribs to gain fuller access to chest cavity
z
TOOLS USED IN PARTIAL AUTOPSY

 Tool- Scalpel
 Job- to cut and create an incision into the head
 Tool- Saw
 Job- to cut into the skull to examine the brain
 z
Future Research Topics

 Later on in this semester, I plan to research the statistics of 
young adult drug over doses and which drugs are becoming 
more common in causing addiction and death
 I would also like to learn about suicides and how in an 
autopsy they determine that the cause of death was a suicide
 For my future research I also want to find information out 
about what they do when they visit a scene and the 
emotional tole it takes on a lab technician
 z
Project Product

 For my product portion of my project, I will be

creating a tri-fold of three specific cases with
three different types of deaths. I will go into
detail about the procedure used for that specific
case used to determine the cause of death. The
three cases I will be using will be a suicide, a
murder, and a heart attack.
 z

Conclusion

 By the end of the semester and this project I

hope to learn everything there is to know about
what is done during an autopsy and I want to
have the ability of reading a case and know
what is needed to be done to determine the
cause of death.
 z
Thank You!

I’d like to thank my teacher Ms.Click for helping

me with choosing my topic and making my project
interesting and successful. I would also like to
thank my mentor for making this experience fun
and enjoyable, but educating me about the area
of study I hope to pursue a career in. I would also
like to thank my parents, especially my mom who
got me this opportunity and has helped
tremendously with my project. Love you mom!
z
Work Cited

 https://www.livescience.com/32789-forensic-pathologist-perform-auto
psy-csi-effect.html
 https://www.google.com/search?q=forensic+science+clipart&rlz
 https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=image
s&cd=&cad
 https://ubisafe.org/explore/hollowing-clipart-skeleton/
 https://forensicoutreach.com/library/the-autopsy-toolkit-for-amateurs/
 https://all-free-download.com/free-vector/download/saw-clip-art_105
43.html