Caskets Full of Flowers

From Crime Scene to Toe Tag

Death investigations are conducted by both the police and medical examiners or coroners. Each jurisdiction determines whether or not they have a coroner or medical examiner. A coroner is an elected official and may or may not be a medical doctor. A medical examiner is a medical doctor who has been hired by a city or county to conduct autopsies and investigate the cause of suspicious deaths. Elected coroners who are not doctors must hire a pathologist to conduct autopsies.

Bodies are placed in body bags and delivered to the morgue in specially equipped vehicles

Upon arrival at the morgue, bodies are rolled onto scales where they’re weighed.

After weighing, the body is placed inside a cold room until autopsy. Black or dark gray, leak-resistant body bags are used pre-autopsy. The paper bag resting on the body of the murder victim at the top of the photo contains the victim’s personal belongings.

Cold rooms also store amputated body parts. The gray trays on the right contain severed limbs. White, paper-like body bags, like the one lying on the gurney in the rear of the cold room above, are used post-autopsy for bodies waiting to be transported to funeral homes.

The autopsy room

Pathologists in this particular morgue select instruments from a rolling cart placed at each workstation.

Tools of the autopsy trade.

Some M.E.’s prefer to use a bone saw used for cutting through the rib cage beneath the “Y” incision. It’s also used for cutting through the skull.

Scales for weighing internal organs.

Bodies are positioned on a gurney, at the autopsy station, prior to autopsy

Upper chest area of a murder victim. Ligature mark on the neck from strangling. Post autopsy “Y” incision sutures.

The toe tag

Info and photos from here

Skin Writing Part II

Dermatographic urticaria, also known as dermographism, dermatographism or “skin writing” is a skin disorder seen in 4-5% of the population and is one of the most common types of urticaria. In a patient with dermographism, the skin becomes raised and inflamed when stroked, scratched, rubbed, and sometimes even slapped. It is most common in young adults, ages 20-30.

Photo by Sam Cross on Flickr

Photo by Sam Cross on Flickr

Photo by excalipoor on Flickr

Photo by eveline.timeless on Flickr

skinwritingart.tumblr.com

skinwritingart.tumblr.com

Photo by Richo Eyes' on Flickr

skinwritingart.tumblr.com

Photo by gerti_2703 on Flickr

LINK

Photo by gerti_2703 on Flickr

LINK

Photo by gerti_2703 on Flickr

Photo by Laura Soria on Flickr

LINK

Part I can be found here

Snowy Cemeteries of the North

Igloolik cemetery, Nunavut. Photo by elisapee on Flickr

Point Hope cemetery with whale jawbone and ribs in Alaska. Photo by David Ducoin on Flickr

The graveyard in Repulse Bay is interesting in that interment is done by piling rocks over the dead rather than by digging a hole in the ground. The lack of soil makes digging impractical. The markers are all small wooden crosses placed very close together.  Photo by Yvon from Ottawa on Flickr

Snow covered grave in a cemetery in Puvirnituq, Nunavik. Photo by .oO chris Oo. on Flickr

Pangnirtung cemetery, Nunavut. Photo credit: Fabrice Desormeaux - LINK

Graves of the North West Mounted Police lost patrol, Northwest Territories - LINK

Owls perched on graves in Barrow, Alaska. Photo by mariodavalos.com on Flickr

Wind blown snow nearly covers the grave of an Inuit baby in the cemetery in Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada. Photo credit: Bryan and Cherry Alexander Photography - LINK

Inupiat cemetery with Bowhead jawbones, Kaktovik, 2001. Photo credit:  Subhankar Banerjee - LINK

Wind blown snow around the mostly Catholic graves in the cemetery in Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada. Photo credit: Bryan and Cherry Alexander Photography - LINK

Grave in a downtown anchorage cemetery - LINK

Silk flowers and other pretty things covered in snow on a grave in Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada. Photo credit: Bryan and Cherry Alexander Photography - LINK

Graveyard outside Cambridge Bay, Nunavut - LINK