Days 6,7&8
On May 11th (Day 6) we spent most of the day in the bone room working on our assigned cases. We are split into two groups and each are working on topics of our choice. My group chose pathologies, blunt force traumas, burn victims and gun shot wounds. We found some really interesting cases such as a woman that had been hit by a train and her skull was split down the center, the autopsy photos show her head split in two but when we saw the skull photos her skull was broken in a few places. She has bent down to pick up her glasses and was hit by a train. A very interesting case!
After the bone case we had the opportunity to see a gunshot victim who was part of a gang retaliation. He had been shot in a vehicle and then the vehicle was set on fire so the victim was burned beyond recognition. The only thing visible and not charred on the individual were his teeth. Burn cases are always interesting to see as it is hard to invision that the remains once were a living person because of the condition of the bodies.
George Hime gave a lecture in toxicology today, which was very interesting! He showed us slides of items they have found in drug mules bodies (drug smugglers) such as hashish, marijuana, cocaine or even combination packs of the three drugs. One of the photos we saw were of an entire string of hashish about 90 latex balloons wrapped in saran wrap and were wrapped around the deceased drug mules intestines. Some of the balloons had burst and killed him by overdose.
May 12th (day 7) The first part of our day was spent in the autopsy room where we saw an autopsy of a victim in his late twenties who had died from a drug overdose a suicide case. He was partially decomposed when he came in so he did not smell pleasant. It is weird when you see someone so young on the autopsy table. We had also seen a car accident victim who had been struck on mothers day with her daughter in the vehicle and the mother was ejected from the vehicle and lost her life. Also in the autopsy area we saw a man that has been in the freezer since March that has fungus growing on him.
After the autopsies we went to the records room to find cases for our presentation, we found a case of a woman who had been dismembered. The bottom half of her body was found in a box and the top half was found in another box both in different locations, her head was never found. Looking at her bones you can see the cut marks where she was dismembered, it is cool to see the cut marks and be able to compare them to pictures we have only seen in books before we came here to Miami. We also found the remains of a little 5 year old boy who was found deceased in a closet, his remains are still unknown. He has some trauma to the back of his head and to his ulna (arm bone). From looking at the trauma we suspect that he may have been hit in the back of the head with something and when he went to fall forward to brace himself he fractured his ulna. This was a very sad case ☹.
May 13th (Day 8) today we started out in the bone room and on our way there we saw a severe decomposing case. This man was black and bloated and had maggots all over him, he did not smell very good! But was very cool to see.
Later on in the autopsy room we saw two suicides that came in one was mid twenties and had shot himself in the head, his entrance wound had burning around it from the casing of the gun. The second victims gunshot wound was interesting because his entrance wound looked like his exit wound and his exit wound looked like his entrance wound. The entrance wound is supposed to be smaller and cleaner than the exit wound which is usually bigger and messier because the bullet travels through and pushes out with force causing a bigger hole and more of a mess.
We also got to sit in on a homicide meeting today where two cases were presented but they are confidential so I cannot speak about them but it was really fascinating to sit in on a meeting and see how the police force works with the medical examiners office to solve cases!
Still enjoying everyday!!!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Week 2 - Day Six
Yesterday was interesting in the fact that we had a toxicology lecture in the afternoon. During the morning, we were working on our bone cases - trying to make sure that we had all the information needed to be able to put the report together. At the start of lunch, we had finished up our first bone case, and knew what we had to go back and re-do/measure/analyze.
After that we had the presentation. Some of the information I already knew about, as I am in the SMU Forensic Science's Program, but it was interesting to see what differences there were between the two countries. The first, and most obvious one, is the size of the place. The tox lab in Halifax is nice, but they don't have over 2 million in equipment that they have here.
Personally, I was interested in pursuing toxicology, but Chemistry doesn't like me all that much, and the feeling is somewhat mutual. Seeing what they do, however, is fascinating. The case studies he presented to us where intriguing, just seeing what could be considered a poison was kind of scary.
This week is mostly free time, so I expect I'll be in the bone room working on the cases and presentations for most of it, but I'd like to stop by the photography lab as well as the tox lab for a bit as well. I can't believe we're almost done here - I don't want to leave!
After that we had the presentation. Some of the information I already knew about, as I am in the SMU Forensic Science's Program, but it was interesting to see what differences there were between the two countries. The first, and most obvious one, is the size of the place. The tox lab in Halifax is nice, but they don't have over 2 million in equipment that they have here.
Personally, I was interested in pursuing toxicology, but Chemistry doesn't like me all that much, and the feeling is somewhat mutual. Seeing what they do, however, is fascinating. The case studies he presented to us where intriguing, just seeing what could be considered a poison was kind of scary.
This week is mostly free time, so I expect I'll be in the bone room working on the cases and presentations for most of it, but I'd like to stop by the photography lab as well as the tox lab for a bit as well. I can't believe we're almost done here - I don't want to leave!
Days Four and Five
The internet here is really messed up, I'm writing this from the morgue because it's the only place where it's reliable!
Thursday was the most interesting day here so far. After the daily morning meeting, Mandy had told us that the maceration that the other group had started had finished boiling and that we were going to finish it. Suiting up was a fun experience. In addition to the normal gown, booties and double gloves, we got to wear a hair net and instead of a normal mask, we smeared the inside with Vick's vapour rub in order to not smell the decomp.
Even still, when the lids were lifted up, you could definitely smell something. One of the girl's compared it to the smell of chicken soup, with kind of a mixture of mushroom soup as well. Well, whatever it smelled like, it's not something I'll be likely to forget! After removing the remaining flesh (all the stuff that has a really strong grip on the bones, like ligaments and cartilage) we rinsed the bones and dried them, then placed them on a new gurney. There was quite a system going on there, with 4 people macerating the main stuff, two that were getting rid of the finer remains and the other two rinsed and placed the bones (these would be the ones with queasy stomachs).
Whoever the guy was must have been in major pain - some of his bones had fused together and others showed massive signs of lipping. The maceration took pretty much all morning, so after lunch we went to work on our bone cases.
Friday
Our group was first in the autopsy room on friday. We witnessed the autopsy of another motorcycle crash victim, this time from start to finish. Today I held the brain, heart, and liver during the autopsy, as well as touched a broken cervical vertabrae! It just seemed so surreal, I still can't believe I'm here.
After the autopsy finished (around 10ish), we worked on our bone cases again. Our group had pretty much finished taking down notes, so Sam and I went back to the auditorium and started writing up our reports.
We also went to our first afternoon meeting, where the pathologists will gather and discuss the more -interesting- cases that they've seen over the past little while.
That concluded our first week at the Miami-Dade morgue, and as much as I'm happy and excited to be down here, I'm also grateful for the break of getting up so early! See you next week!
Thursday was the most interesting day here so far. After the daily morning meeting, Mandy had told us that the maceration that the other group had started had finished boiling and that we were going to finish it. Suiting up was a fun experience. In addition to the normal gown, booties and double gloves, we got to wear a hair net and instead of a normal mask, we smeared the inside with Vick's vapour rub in order to not smell the decomp.
Even still, when the lids were lifted up, you could definitely smell something. One of the girl's compared it to the smell of chicken soup, with kind of a mixture of mushroom soup as well. Well, whatever it smelled like, it's not something I'll be likely to forget! After removing the remaining flesh (all the stuff that has a really strong grip on the bones, like ligaments and cartilage) we rinsed the bones and dried them, then placed them on a new gurney. There was quite a system going on there, with 4 people macerating the main stuff, two that were getting rid of the finer remains and the other two rinsed and placed the bones (these would be the ones with queasy stomachs).
Whoever the guy was must have been in major pain - some of his bones had fused together and others showed massive signs of lipping. The maceration took pretty much all morning, so after lunch we went to work on our bone cases.
Friday
Our group was first in the autopsy room on friday. We witnessed the autopsy of another motorcycle crash victim, this time from start to finish. Today I held the brain, heart, and liver during the autopsy, as well as touched a broken cervical vertabrae! It just seemed so surreal, I still can't believe I'm here.
After the autopsy finished (around 10ish), we worked on our bone cases again. Our group had pretty much finished taking down notes, so Sam and I went back to the auditorium and started writing up our reports.
We also went to our first afternoon meeting, where the pathologists will gather and discuss the more -interesting- cases that they've seen over the past little while.
That concluded our first week at the Miami-Dade morgue, and as much as I'm happy and excited to be down here, I'm also grateful for the break of getting up so early! See you next week!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Day 5
Our last day of the week was eventful. First order of the day was autopsies where we had the chance to view the individual that we had seen come into receiving on thursday that had his bottom half and top half seperated by a motorcycle accident. It was interesting to watch the autopsy as he had alot of fractures and broken bones. I got to feel one of the fractures that was at the top of his spine by the foramen magnum which is the hole in the botton of your skull for your spinal cord to go through. Putting my hand inside of his throat all the way up to his brain was intense and amazing...my hand was in all the way to my wrist a bit longer possibly. We were also allowed to put our hands into other parts of the body as well and able to hold the organs and watch the Doctor disect them for any anomalies (somthing different or abnormal in the organs).
After the autopsy we went to the bone room where we worked on our cases again and found some really cool remains for one of our cases, we found blunt force trauma to the skull and also found two bones in the leg (tibia and fibula) that were fused, which means that this man must have have had a limp and was in some pain. We suspect the fused bones were a bacterial infection because there were no signs of trauma from the x-ray that we had taken. And that was our last day of the week. Looking forward to Monday!
After the autopsy we went to the bone room where we worked on our cases again and found some really cool remains for one of our cases, we found blunt force trauma to the skull and also found two bones in the leg (tibia and fibula) that were fused, which means that this man must have have had a limp and was in some pain. We suspect the fused bones were a bacterial infection because there were no signs of trauma from the x-ray that we had taken. And that was our last day of the week. Looking forward to Monday!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Day 1-4
The Internet is a little fussy here at our hotel so I apologize for not writing earlier.
Day 1:
Our first day at the Miami Dade Medical Examiners facility was intense but an amazing experience. When I came down here to Miami on the forensic anthropology internship I was torn between wanting to pursue forensic anthropology or forensic pathologist. After spending our very first day in the autopsy area I realized that I wanted to pursue forensic pathology as a career.
The forensic pathologists area was our first stop of the day where we had the opportunity to stand in on live autopsies and observe some interesting scenarios. The first autopsy I observed, I had the chance to hold the individual’s heart and set of lungs immediately after they had removed them from the body it was an experience unlike any other.
After our time with the forensic pathologists we went on to the bone room where we are currently working on two case reports, the bone room is an interesting place to work. In the room we have many boxes of bones that are old and new cases and in some cases ancient, such as a mummy that they have preserved in the bone room.
Odontology was the next part of our day with Dr. Souviron who is very knowledgeable in his field of expertise forensic odontology. Dr.Souviron worked on the Ted Bundy case and was a delight to work with and he taught us a lot about bite marks.
Day 2,3:
The second and third day at the facility we worked with Lenny Wolf who is a forensic photographer at the Miami Dade county Medical Examiners facility. Lenny enjoys teaching so we had a lot of fun working with him. His passion for forensic photography really makes this experience that much better.
We all got a chance to test out the cameras they use for taking crime scene photos and autopsies. It is harder to use than it looks, there is a lot of coordination involved in holding the flash in one hand and the camera in the other but Lenny and his photography staff make it look so easy.
We also had a lecture done by one of the photographers Heidi. Heidi taught us about alternate light source and it is amazing to see how the lighting from the camera makes a big difference in what you can see on an individual. She showed us that UV light can reveal a history of physical violence on the skin old bite marks that you cannot see from the naked eye and many more light sources that can show helpful evidence to cases. In these few days I realized how important photography is to an investigation and I am interested in learning more about it.
Day 4:
The internship definitely gets better by the day!
Today our day started in the bone room where we got the opportunity to macerate human remains, which means we got to de-flesh a decomposing body. The maceration was amazing; to be able to do something like that truly is once in a lifetime and not something everyone gets to do. The pots that the bones are boiled in has a stench that is indescribable, there really is nothing to compare the smell of human remains to it has a smell of its own although if you ask some of the other girls they may compare it to something. One of the girls on our trip Pilar compared the smell to mushroom soup. The remains that we macerated ended up having severe lipping, which means he had some sort of bone disease and he was probably living in a lot of pain.
After the maceration me and some of the girls got to go down to receiving where they bring the bodies in to be weighed and checked in before put in the cooler for the pathologists. Today we saw a man that had been in an accident and the entire bottom half of his body was completely twisted around so his chest and his buttocks were on the same side of his body. It was amazing to see and definitely scares you into not wanting to ride a motorcycle. They had to turn his lower half back to the normal anatomical position in order to get his height as there was a separation between the upper and lower halves. This was just one of many other things that a lot of people do not get to see and after today I can say I am truly in my element.
Day 1:
Our first day at the Miami Dade Medical Examiners facility was intense but an amazing experience. When I came down here to Miami on the forensic anthropology internship I was torn between wanting to pursue forensic anthropology or forensic pathologist. After spending our very first day in the autopsy area I realized that I wanted to pursue forensic pathology as a career.
The forensic pathologists area was our first stop of the day where we had the opportunity to stand in on live autopsies and observe some interesting scenarios. The first autopsy I observed, I had the chance to hold the individual’s heart and set of lungs immediately after they had removed them from the body it was an experience unlike any other.
After our time with the forensic pathologists we went on to the bone room where we are currently working on two case reports, the bone room is an interesting place to work. In the room we have many boxes of bones that are old and new cases and in some cases ancient, such as a mummy that they have preserved in the bone room.
Odontology was the next part of our day with Dr. Souviron who is very knowledgeable in his field of expertise forensic odontology. Dr.Souviron worked on the Ted Bundy case and was a delight to work with and he taught us a lot about bite marks.
Day 2,3:
The second and third day at the facility we worked with Lenny Wolf who is a forensic photographer at the Miami Dade county Medical Examiners facility. Lenny enjoys teaching so we had a lot of fun working with him. His passion for forensic photography really makes this experience that much better.
We all got a chance to test out the cameras they use for taking crime scene photos and autopsies. It is harder to use than it looks, there is a lot of coordination involved in holding the flash in one hand and the camera in the other but Lenny and his photography staff make it look so easy.
We also had a lecture done by one of the photographers Heidi. Heidi taught us about alternate light source and it is amazing to see how the lighting from the camera makes a big difference in what you can see on an individual. She showed us that UV light can reveal a history of physical violence on the skin old bite marks that you cannot see from the naked eye and many more light sources that can show helpful evidence to cases. In these few days I realized how important photography is to an investigation and I am interested in learning more about it.
Day 4:
The internship definitely gets better by the day!
Today our day started in the bone room where we got the opportunity to macerate human remains, which means we got to de-flesh a decomposing body. The maceration was amazing; to be able to do something like that truly is once in a lifetime and not something everyone gets to do. The pots that the bones are boiled in has a stench that is indescribable, there really is nothing to compare the smell of human remains to it has a smell of its own although if you ask some of the other girls they may compare it to something. One of the girls on our trip Pilar compared the smell to mushroom soup. The remains that we macerated ended up having severe lipping, which means he had some sort of bone disease and he was probably living in a lot of pain.
After the maceration me and some of the girls got to go down to receiving where they bring the bodies in to be weighed and checked in before put in the cooler for the pathologists. Today we saw a man that had been in an accident and the entire bottom half of his body was completely twisted around so his chest and his buttocks were on the same side of his body. It was amazing to see and definitely scares you into not wanting to ride a motorcycle. They had to turn his lower half back to the normal anatomical position in order to get his height as there was a separation between the upper and lower halves. This was just one of many other things that a lot of people do not get to see and after today I can say I am truly in my element.
Days Two and Three
These past few days have been really hectic - I've only just got the chance (and the internet connection!) to post this now.
On the second morning at the Miami-Dade ME's office, we had the first of a series of lectures over two days for Forensic Photography. After the morning meeting, in which there were around ten or eleven cases for the day, we went back to the lecture hall and met up with Lenny, a forensic photographer.
We first went into the photography lab where he showed us some representative pictures of what they can be told to do - some autopsy pictures (including a uterus with a fetus inside), some pictures of drug busts (you would not believe the amount of effort these people use when trying to ship drugs into the country) as well as some crime scene photos.
Instead of having the regular floor lighting system (like what the school photographer would bring in on picture day), their system was in the ceiling. You would attach a light to a hook on a movable ramp on the ceiling and then you could position it however you liked. They use this to minimize the reflection you can get in normal pictures, and to make sure you get the most amount of detail in one shot.
They also had a printer like the ones you see in a one-hour photo place. As he was explaining this, someone came into the room and asked for their scene photos - and there were 141 pictures in it! After he finished explaining about the rest of the equipment, we went back to the lecture hall and he gave us an introduction into photography, and how distance, illumination, angling of the flash and many other things all contributed to the final picture.
In the afternoon, a sales rep from a microscope company came in to demonstrate their product. While this wasn't part of our lecture, it was fascinating. The microscope had such a high resolving power that when the rep put it up to his face; we were able to see the blood cells flowing through the capillaries on the monitor!
On the second day of Forensic Photography, after the morning meeting (7-8 cases) we went to went to the gun range that is also within the ME's office(!). Lenny brought us up and explained how they are able to take a picture of something that moves at a rate of about 1000-2000 metres per second. The exposure time, rather than being 2/50th of a second is closer to 1 microsecond, and it really does capture the image sharply. After he finished explaining, we shuffled out of the room and watched as he made sure everything was working properly (flash, camera, computer) and then loaded the gun and fired. I was surprised at the noise . . even hearing the sound on TV wasn't the same as seeing and experiencing it. He fired three different types of rounds, and on each one there was a slightly different noise level, but also they exited the barrel at different speeds and the gunpowder (whether it was burnt or not etc) was also changed. After that, we had some fun with it. We made a Play-doh snowman which was then almost destroyed (except for the hat - it was untouched!) and placed crayons in a line and saw how the path the bullet travel slowed down. The final fun thing we did was put a piece of chalk in front of a card to try and simulate a spatter pattern. Afterwards, Heidi, another photographer, gave us a talk about alternate light sources (infrared, ultraviolet etc). Using these along with colour filters can illuminate, darken, or make something disappear. For instance, using infrared on a shirt with dried blood on it will make the blood darken, while semen stains under ultraviolet will fluoresce. When a cheque or something is forged, using alternate light sources will make the part that has been added disappear, showing the true value. It was fascinating to see the number of different things that a forensic photographer needs to know.
Lenny has also lent us a camera kit for the rest of the time that we are here. A typical photographer's kit includes the camera, a 17-80 mm lens, a macro lens, a outside flash with long cord and an external battery source, as well as the caps and lens shade that goes with the lenses. This kit typically runs from 2000-3000 dollars! He showed us how to use them, and I helped demonstrate the difference between the different f-stops (aperture of the camera), as well as using the flash that is on the camera vs. the outside flash. When you have a large aperture, more light is let in, so you need less time to capture the image, and when there is a small aperture, less light is let in, so you need to compensate for it by using the larger flash.
That was the end of the workshop, but we still had around two hours before the bus came to get us, so my group went to the bone room and we picked out one of our cases. We managed to almost entirely finish sexing the skeleton (estimating the sex using the pelvis and skull) before we got kicked out by the other group who also wanted to work on their cases. ;)
The two days spent in the lecture hall about forensic photography were very interesting, but I'll be glad to get back into the autopsy room tomorrow!
On the second morning at the Miami-Dade ME's office, we had the first of a series of lectures over two days for Forensic Photography. After the morning meeting, in which there were around ten or eleven cases for the day, we went back to the lecture hall and met up with Lenny, a forensic photographer.
We first went into the photography lab where he showed us some representative pictures of what they can be told to do - some autopsy pictures (including a uterus with a fetus inside), some pictures of drug busts (you would not believe the amount of effort these people use when trying to ship drugs into the country) as well as some crime scene photos.
Instead of having the regular floor lighting system (like what the school photographer would bring in on picture day), their system was in the ceiling. You would attach a light to a hook on a movable ramp on the ceiling and then you could position it however you liked. They use this to minimize the reflection you can get in normal pictures, and to make sure you get the most amount of detail in one shot.
They also had a printer like the ones you see in a one-hour photo place. As he was explaining this, someone came into the room and asked for their scene photos - and there were 141 pictures in it! After he finished explaining about the rest of the equipment, we went back to the lecture hall and he gave us an introduction into photography, and how distance, illumination, angling of the flash and many other things all contributed to the final picture.
In the afternoon, a sales rep from a microscope company came in to demonstrate their product. While this wasn't part of our lecture, it was fascinating. The microscope had such a high resolving power that when the rep put it up to his face; we were able to see the blood cells flowing through the capillaries on the monitor!
On the second day of Forensic Photography, after the morning meeting (7-8 cases) we went to went to the gun range that is also within the ME's office(!). Lenny brought us up and explained how they are able to take a picture of something that moves at a rate of about 1000-2000 metres per second. The exposure time, rather than being 2/50th of a second is closer to 1 microsecond, and it really does capture the image sharply. After he finished explaining, we shuffled out of the room and watched as he made sure everything was working properly (flash, camera, computer) and then loaded the gun and fired. I was surprised at the noise . . even hearing the sound on TV wasn't the same as seeing and experiencing it. He fired three different types of rounds, and on each one there was a slightly different noise level, but also they exited the barrel at different speeds and the gunpowder (whether it was burnt or not etc) was also changed. After that, we had some fun with it. We made a Play-doh snowman which was then almost destroyed (except for the hat - it was untouched!) and placed crayons in a line and saw how the path the bullet travel slowed down. The final fun thing we did was put a piece of chalk in front of a card to try and simulate a spatter pattern. Afterwards, Heidi, another photographer, gave us a talk about alternate light sources (infrared, ultraviolet etc). Using these along with colour filters can illuminate, darken, or make something disappear. For instance, using infrared on a shirt with dried blood on it will make the blood darken, while semen stains under ultraviolet will fluoresce. When a cheque or something is forged, using alternate light sources will make the part that has been added disappear, showing the true value. It was fascinating to see the number of different things that a forensic photographer needs to know.
Lenny has also lent us a camera kit for the rest of the time that we are here. A typical photographer's kit includes the camera, a 17-80 mm lens, a macro lens, a outside flash with long cord and an external battery source, as well as the caps and lens shade that goes with the lenses. This kit typically runs from 2000-3000 dollars! He showed us how to use them, and I helped demonstrate the difference between the different f-stops (aperture of the camera), as well as using the flash that is on the camera vs. the outside flash. When you have a large aperture, more light is let in, so you need less time to capture the image, and when there is a small aperture, less light is let in, so you need to compensate for it by using the larger flash.
That was the end of the workshop, but we still had around two hours before the bus came to get us, so my group went to the bone room and we picked out one of our cases. We managed to almost entirely finish sexing the skeleton (estimating the sex using the pelvis and skull) before we got kicked out by the other group who also wanted to work on their cases. ;)
The two days spent in the lecture hall about forensic photography were very interesting, but I'll be glad to get back into the autopsy room tomorrow!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Today we did the second part of the Forensic Photopraphy component of the course. We started by going up to the high speed gun range. Lenny showed us all of the equipment that is used to take pictures of projectiles exiting a gun barrel. Once we were familiarized with the equipment groups of three took turns helping Lenny take pictures while he fired a 40 caliber gun while the others watched from behind protective glass. I was in the first group and was in charge of opening the shutter while Michelle controled the lights and Jessica observed. Once a few groups had taken pictures of just the projectile exiting the barrel, we started to place different targets in front of the gun to see what effect it would have on different materials. This first target was a snowman we made out of play dough. Once we shot it with the gun we picked up the piece which consisted of only the feet, head and hat, the body had been completely obliterated. We looked at the picture and it was so intersting to see the path the bullet have followed. Next we tried four differently colored crayons lined up. The picture showed the tops and bottoms of the crayons in pretty much the exact same position as they started but the middle (where the bullet had passed) was just full of multicolored specks. Finaly, we decided to place a piece of chalk in front of a playing card to see if we could observe GSR patterns on the card. The picture was incredible, there was so much blue chalk particles in the bullet path that you could barely see the projectile. We found the card and saw that it had been partialy ripped and was covered in blue chalk particles. After that Lenny took a group picture of us at the other end of the range and we headed back to the auditorium for the lecture. Heidi talked to us about using alternate light sources to enhance photographs to see all sorts of things that aren't visible or are poorly visible by the naked eye. Things like faded or removed tattoos as well as figerprints and different inks used to forge checks. After lunch Lenny shoed us all how to use the equipment that comes with a basic camera kit including the flash, lenses, batteries and the camera itself. Once we had all tried out taking pictures of bones, our group headed to the bone lab to work on our cases. We started by observing cranial features to estimate biological affinity. Once we had finished observing the skull it was time to pack the bones up and head back to the auditorium and catch the bus home. Tomorrow our group is starting in the autopsy room while the other group works in the bone room soour group is quite excited and hoping that there are some interesting cases!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Day 2
Today we began our two-day Forensic Photography component of the course. We began by attending the morning meeting. Again, there were several cases, which we are not quite used to in Halifax. There were quite a few interesting cases, including two Gun Shot Wound (GSW) victims, one found floating and one burn victim (which none of us had ever seen before). After the meeting we were given a tour of the photography lab by Mr. Leonard Wolfe. He told us that everysingle case that comes to the morgue is photographed a minimum of 9 times but some cases can be photographed into the hundreds of times. He showed us all the equipment including a printer that could print over 400 pictures per hour. Next, we headed to the Auditorium for the lecture component. I was incredible to see how precise pictures must be and how easily a picture can be distorted bases on an incorrect angle, lighting, focus, distance, as well as many other factors. During the lecture he told us stories of the worst things he had ever photographed, and some of the storied were quite surprising! He also showed us how to enhance pictures in order to emphasize a certain characteristic.
After eating lunch, we returned to the auditorium where a salesman named Nathan showed us a high-tech digital microscope he was hoping to sell to the ME's office. It was incredible to see the amount of detail that this microscope could see including the blood cells travelling through the vessels under the surface of the skin. After the digital microscope presentation, we had about 2 hours until the bus would be there to pick us up so a few of us decided to go see if there were any autopsies left in the autopsy room. Unfortunately, the doctors in the autopsy room were just finishing up the final two autopsies of the day. However, we were able to obsere one of the bodies being fingerprinted and photographed. We were quite interested in seeing the burn victim case so we asked Dr. Rodriguez about it. She said that the body was probably still in the freezer and brought us to see it. Although the body was not severly burnt, it was still so interesting to see how the skin was charred and to note that it actualy smelled like barbecue charcoal, which is not what I was expecting. On our way out of the freezer we saw a partialy opened bag that contained animal remains. After leaving the freezer, we began to exit the autopsy rrom and observed a victim's clothing articles laid out to be photographed. The shirt was soaked in blood and had a few holes in it. We then exited the autopsy room and joined the others, that had gone to the bone room to pack up bones, in the auditorium. Although we spent most of the day in the auditorium listening to lectures, it was still an extremely interesting and eventful day, and I cannot wait until tomorrow!
After eating lunch, we returned to the auditorium where a salesman named Nathan showed us a high-tech digital microscope he was hoping to sell to the ME's office. It was incredible to see the amount of detail that this microscope could see including the blood cells travelling through the vessels under the surface of the skin. After the digital microscope presentation, we had about 2 hours until the bus would be there to pick us up so a few of us decided to go see if there were any autopsies left in the autopsy room. Unfortunately, the doctors in the autopsy room were just finishing up the final two autopsies of the day. However, we were able to obsere one of the bodies being fingerprinted and photographed. We were quite interested in seeing the burn victim case so we asked Dr. Rodriguez about it. She said that the body was probably still in the freezer and brought us to see it. Although the body was not severly burnt, it was still so interesting to see how the skin was charred and to note that it actualy smelled like barbecue charcoal, which is not what I was expecting. On our way out of the freezer we saw a partialy opened bag that contained animal remains. After leaving the freezer, we began to exit the autopsy rrom and observed a victim's clothing articles laid out to be photographed. The shirt was soaked in blood and had a few holes in it. We then exited the autopsy room and joined the others, that had gone to the bone room to pack up bones, in the auditorium. Although we spent most of the day in the auditorium listening to lectures, it was still an extremely interesting and eventful day, and I cannot wait until tomorrow!
Day 1
I wrote this on here last night but I've neer used a blog before, and didn't know how to work it so I ended up posting this as a comment to the first post by Brian. Anyways, I copy pasted what I wrote to (what I think is) the right place, so here it is...
SO today was our first day at the morgue, and I can't believe the amount of stuff we did on our first day! We started by attending the morning meeting where the day's cases were discussed and then a tour of the facility, including a detailed tour of the toxicology lab. Next, we were broken up into groups and our group began in the bone roon while the other group headed to the autopsy room. Our group got the opportunity to perform our first ever maceration. It was an incredible learning experience to actualy touch and take apart human remains. It was also surprising how short of a time it took us to complete the entire maceration (about 45 minutes). Once we had finished the maceration it was time for the two groups to switch rooms. Once in the autopsy room, we watched as one of the doctors cut up one victim's trachea, brain and heart looking for evidence that would suggest a cause of death. It was so intersting to see these things up close and be shown what is normal and what is abnormal. It was imensely more informative than learning from a textbook. Next, we went over to another autopsy table and obsrved another, previously autopsied body. It was incredible to see that all of the bodies from the morning's case list had all been autopsied by noon. I never thought performing autopsies on all of those bodies could be done so quickly and efficiently. After lunch, Dr. Souviron showed us how to perform X-rays on skeletonized human remains. He then gave us an extremely interesting presentation on Forensic Odontology. Dr. Souviron is the Forensic Odontologist that worked on the Ted Bundy case and it was so interesting to meet such a well-known forensic doctor! After the presentation we had about an hour before the bus would be there to pick us up so our group decided to head back to the bone room to choose human remain cases for our reports. It was so incredible to be able to do so much on our first day and the staff were so friendly and welcoming that I am looking forward so much to going back tomorrow morning!
SO today was our first day at the morgue, and I can't believe the amount of stuff we did on our first day! We started by attending the morning meeting where the day's cases were discussed and then a tour of the facility, including a detailed tour of the toxicology lab. Next, we were broken up into groups and our group began in the bone roon while the other group headed to the autopsy room. Our group got the opportunity to perform our first ever maceration. It was an incredible learning experience to actualy touch and take apart human remains. It was also surprising how short of a time it took us to complete the entire maceration (about 45 minutes). Once we had finished the maceration it was time for the two groups to switch rooms. Once in the autopsy room, we watched as one of the doctors cut up one victim's trachea, brain and heart looking for evidence that would suggest a cause of death. It was so intersting to see these things up close and be shown what is normal and what is abnormal. It was imensely more informative than learning from a textbook. Next, we went over to another autopsy table and obsrved another, previously autopsied body. It was incredible to see that all of the bodies from the morning's case list had all been autopsied by noon. I never thought performing autopsies on all of those bodies could be done so quickly and efficiently. After lunch, Dr. Souviron showed us how to perform X-rays on skeletonized human remains. He then gave us an extremely interesting presentation on Forensic Odontology. Dr. Souviron is the Forensic Odontologist that worked on the Ted Bundy case and it was so interesting to meet such a well-known forensic doctor! After the presentation we had about an hour before the bus would be there to pick us up so our group decided to head back to the bone room to choose human remain cases for our reports. It was so incredible to be able to do so much on our first day and the staff were so friendly and welcoming that I am looking forward so much to going back tomorrow morning!
The First Day
Sorry I didn't get to write this last night, the internet at the hotel at which we're staying at is kind of messed up and none of us could get on last night.
The first day at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office was both what I had expected and yet at the same time, there were things that I would never have possibily imagined. After the bus ride into the morgue, we sat in on the pathologist's morning meeting, where they discussed the cases that they would be seeing that day. I was shocked to see that at least 10 cases a day was considered normal!
After the meeting, we met with Dr. Hyma, who is the chief medical examiner at the Miami-Dade morgue. From him, we found out that the Miami-Dade district served over 2 million people and was the largest district in Florida as well as the fact that around 3000 cases passed through the morgue every year.
We next toured the facility, which was amazing! This place is very extensive, and is considered to be the top of the line for morgues in North America. They have an extremely large autopsy room, bone room, toxicology lab, photography lab and auditoriums for lecturing. After the tour finished, we were separated into two groups. My group went to look in on the autopsy room for about an hour while the other group went into the bone room to work on a maceration.
It was completely surreal. I cannot begin to explain how different seeing an autopsy is from reading about it in a book or even watching it on a television screen. The first thing that I noticed, right off the bat, was the colours. The bright yellow colour of fat and the red muscles really stood out against the sterile grey walls and tiles. The autopsy we watched was someone who had got into a motorcycle accident and it was so unreal - I couldn't believe that I was actually watching it!
The 'fresh' bodies weren't really smelly, but the body that needed the maceration was - I don't have the words to be able to describe it. Luckily for my group, the other group had finished the maceraction by the time it was to switch, so we were tasked with packing up some bones for a DNA extraction project. This is really cool, as the US government are trying to sequence the DNA of the unknown deceased that they have in the bone rooms of all the morgues in the United States in order to match them with close relatives. This project depends on the missing person's family coming in and giving their DNA as well.
At this point, it was lunch time, so we all went back to the lounge and ate. At one, we met with Dr. Souviron, who is an expert forensic odontologist. An odontologist is someone who works with teeth, and Dr. Souviron is one of the foremost authorities on forensic odontologist in the United States, and gave testimony at the Ted Bundy trial. He gave a lecture on identification based on the teeth and bite mark analysis. I never really thought about how much a person could learn about a victim from their teeth, but he showed that even when a skeleton is found and is missing teeth post-mortem, he can find the person using dental records.
All in all, the first day was both completely overwhelming as well as completely amazing. I learned so much just from those few hours and cannot wait for the next two weeks!
~Amy
The first day at the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office was both what I had expected and yet at the same time, there were things that I would never have possibily imagined. After the bus ride into the morgue, we sat in on the pathologist's morning meeting, where they discussed the cases that they would be seeing that day. I was shocked to see that at least 10 cases a day was considered normal!
After the meeting, we met with Dr. Hyma, who is the chief medical examiner at the Miami-Dade morgue. From him, we found out that the Miami-Dade district served over 2 million people and was the largest district in Florida as well as the fact that around 3000 cases passed through the morgue every year.
We next toured the facility, which was amazing! This place is very extensive, and is considered to be the top of the line for morgues in North America. They have an extremely large autopsy room, bone room, toxicology lab, photography lab and auditoriums for lecturing. After the tour finished, we were separated into two groups. My group went to look in on the autopsy room for about an hour while the other group went into the bone room to work on a maceration.
It was completely surreal. I cannot begin to explain how different seeing an autopsy is from reading about it in a book or even watching it on a television screen. The first thing that I noticed, right off the bat, was the colours. The bright yellow colour of fat and the red muscles really stood out against the sterile grey walls and tiles. The autopsy we watched was someone who had got into a motorcycle accident and it was so unreal - I couldn't believe that I was actually watching it!
The 'fresh' bodies weren't really smelly, but the body that needed the maceration was - I don't have the words to be able to describe it. Luckily for my group, the other group had finished the maceraction by the time it was to switch, so we were tasked with packing up some bones for a DNA extraction project. This is really cool, as the US government are trying to sequence the DNA of the unknown deceased that they have in the bone rooms of all the morgues in the United States in order to match them with close relatives. This project depends on the missing person's family coming in and giving their DNA as well.
At this point, it was lunch time, so we all went back to the lounge and ate. At one, we met with Dr. Souviron, who is an expert forensic odontologist. An odontologist is someone who works with teeth, and Dr. Souviron is one of the foremost authorities on forensic odontologist in the United States, and gave testimony at the Ted Bundy trial. He gave a lecture on identification based on the teeth and bite mark analysis. I never really thought about how much a person could learn about a victim from their teeth, but he showed that even when a skeleton is found and is missing teeth post-mortem, he can find the person using dental records.
All in all, the first day was both completely overwhelming as well as completely amazing. I learned so much just from those few hours and cannot wait for the next two weeks!
~Amy
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