’An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards’

Answer the 4 questions

1. After reading the “modern” definition of death, were you surprised at the complexity of the modern definition? Was it as simple as you would
   have imagined before reading this material?
2. What does the term “rigor mortis” refer to?
3. What does the term “livor mortis” refer to?
4. What does the term “algor mortis” refer to?
   Reference should be from Spitz and Fisher’s Medicolegal Investigation of Death: Guidelines for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigation