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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What drug does Baden note is invisible on the autopsy table?

2. What is livor mortis?

3. What did Baden give to the biologist that allowed him to give a time of death for the 55 year old woman of at least a year and a half?

4. What is the rule for jurisdiction when it comes to a dismembered body?

5. Why did Baden fail to change the cause of death on the Soman case?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain how the body of Theresa Ferrara was identified and why there were different strands of hair on her torso.

2. Describe the symptoms of strangulation, as seen during autopsy.

3. Explain Baden's experience of the convergence of hospital medicine and the morgue, and why the event had an impact on him.

4. What are the ways mentioned in Chapter Six to identify a body?

5. Describe the blunders that occurred during the Levin and Chambers case.

6. What happened to much of the evidence in the Kennedy assassination case, and what does Baden believe occurred?

7. Explain why Baden chose forensic medicine as his profession.

8. Describe why Baden believes the dead woman at the fund raiser and the dead baby in the impoverished apartment represent the inequalities of life.

9. Explain what Baden notes occurs by the French Revolution as a way to bring bodies to medical schools for science.

10. Explain why Baden believes people go into particular medical professions.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the mistakes that led to the original conviction of Claus von Bulow. From what did the EMTs who delivered Sunny, his wife, believe she was suffering ? What caused the hospital staff to disagree? What mistake did they make as a result? Following their assumptions, what mistakes did the lab make in testing Sunny's samples? Why did this lead to false information? What assumptions were made about the insulin needle? What turned out to be the truth? What does this say about the importance of proper procedures in this position?

Essay Topic 2

Baden closes the novel by noting that the system is failing, and has been failing for some time. Why does he say this? What does he attribute as the cause of this failure? What are some things he thinks can help fix the situation? Do you agree these things are important? Why or why not? After reading the novel, do you think forensic medicine, and the role of the ME, are important? Why? What power do they have? What are their responsibilities, and why are these important?

Essay Topic 3

Baden discusses the use of forensic medicine to help humanity. After reading the book, how do you think forensic medicine can help humanity beyond locating a cause of death? Do you think this role is important? Why? What does the role of an ME have on criminal trials and other investigations? Is this important? When combined with the knowledge that public opinion can overpower science, is the role of a medical examiner more or less important? Why? Be sure to use concepts from the book to explain your answers.

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This section contains 983 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample