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ABMDI EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2026
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTION–ANSWER
DIGEST
◉ Bereavement. Answer: Sorrow following the death of a loved one ◉ Brain death. Answer: Final cessation of activity in the central nervous system, as indicated by a flat electroencephalogram (EEG) or absence of cerebral blood flow for a predetermined period of time ◉ Cardiac death. Answer: Final cessation of activity in the cardiovascular system involving the heart and blood vessels ◉ Cessation. Answer: The final stoppage of action ◉ Coroner. Answer: Typically an elected official who decides whether a death occurred under circumstances that require an autopsy, either by law
or to determine manner or cause. A coroner can determine the scope of an autopsy and who will perform it if the elected coroner is not qualified. Only Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio require, without exception, that coroners be medical doctors ◉ Jurisdiction. Answer: The power or authority a court or office has over individuals or trauma ◉ Legal next-of-kin. Answer: The person from whom the medicolegal death investigator must secure consent before initiating any procurement activity ◉ Medical examiner. Answer: Usually a medical doctor, although not necessarily a highly trained pathologist. Like a coroner, a medical examiner decides whether a death occurred under circumstances that may require an autopsy and who will perform it if the medical examiner is not qualified. A medical examiner is usually appointed to the position and may have jurisdiction for a county, district, or state ◉ OPO (organ procurement organization). Answer: The agency responsible for identifying potential donors, obtaining consent, and procuring organs
◉ Common-law marriage. Answer: A marriage that is recognized because the couple have been cohabiting for a determined length of time, yet a legal marriage ceremony has not been performed ◉ Confidential. Answer: Revealed in confidence (trust, assurance), to be kept secret ◉ Cremation. Answer: The reduction of a dead human body to inorganic bone fragments by intense heat in a specially designed chamber ◉ Demographic information. Answer: Personal identifying and specific information regarding an individual's age, social security number, gender, address, and so on ◉ Disinterment. Answer: The opening of a grave and removal of the body for the purpose of reexamination or removal to another site ◉ Embalmer.
Answer: An individual licensed by the state to disinfect, preserve, and cosmetically restore dead human bodies ◉ Euphemism. Answer: A mild or inoffensive term or phrase that is substituted for another, more explicit term ◉ Funeral director. Answer: An individual or corporation licensed by a state to prepare dead human remains, other than by embalming, for interment or other means of disposal. The person also conducts funeral services and counsels the decedent's families ◉ Guardianship or power of attorney. Answer: Legal authorization to act on another individual's behalf. This authority usually ceases after death, so be sure to check the law in your state ◉ Interrogation. Answer: The formal act of examining a person by asking questions, usually a law enforcement function ◉ Interview.
Answer: Any person or agency not officially affiliated with or recognized as a member of your office ◉ Religious objection. Answer: A family's objection to the performance of an autopsy based on their religious/spiritual beliefs ◉ Retort. Answer: A vessel or chamber in which substances are decomposed by heat ◉ Self-inflicted. Answer: The infliction of injury or death on oneself ◉ Statutory. Answer: Authorized by law ◉ Autoeroticism. Answer: Sexual activity in which an individual indulges in private, usually involving some form of asphyxia to heighten sexual pleasure ◉ Confidential (private) information.
Answer: Information that is protected by law and can be released only to certain authorized parties or that requires a court order for its release ◉ Hold-harmless agreement. Answer: A signed agreement or contract in which the signing parties agree not to file action for any injuries against the receiving party that might arise out of the contract or agreement ◉ Public information. Answer: Information the public has a legal right to know and that cannot be withheld ◉ Survivors. Answer: Those persons (family/friends) who remain alive after the death of someone else (family member or friend) ◉ Ambient. Answer: A condition that completely surrounds or encompasses something ◉ Anomaly. Answer: A marked deviation from normal; for example, congenital defects
Answer: The supporting surface of the body ◉ Diagram. Answer: An illustrative outline of a tract of land, or something else that can be projected in a linear fashion, which is not necessarily intended to be perfectly accurate ◉ DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Answer: The genetic material passed through from the cells of one generation to another ◉ Electrolytes. Answer: Components of a solution containing dissolved acids, bases, or salts forming constituents of tissue fluid, plasma, and cellular fluid (i.e. sodium, potassium bicarbonate, and chloride) ◉ Exploding view or cross-projection drawing type. Answer: Similar to the floor-plan type, with folded-out walls; helpful in documenting bullets or blood stains on walls ◉ F-stop (aperture). Answer: The light-gathering ability of the lens
◉ Film speed. Answer: ASA/ISO/DIN indicates the speed of the film. The higher the ASA/ISO number, the less available light is required to take a picture. For example, 100 or 200 film is good for bright days, whereas 400 would be more appropriate for overcast conditions ◉ Floor-plan-view drawing type. Answer: Overhead view of the scene, detailing evidence in relation to the surroundings ◉ HAZ/MAT (Hazardous Materials Unit). Answer: The agency charged with the responsibility for planning preparedness and response actions related to spills or discharges of oil and hazardous materials into the environment ◉ Incident command system. Answer: A standardized system of managing assigned resources for effective and efficient control of any emergency event ◉ Livor mortis (lividity). Answer: Postmortem settling of the blood into the dependent portions of the body ◉ Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
Answer: Recording a video of a scene, starting at point A and slowly moving the camera across the scene to point B ◉ Peripheral blood. Answer: Blood recovered from arteries and veins in the extremities or head regions ◉ Poison control center. Answer: Provides medical information on a 24-hour basis for investigation of incidents involving potentially poisonous materials ◉ Prone. Answer: Lying face downward; a relative position of the body lying on the face or anterior portion ◉ Reconstruct. Answer: To build again, to rebuild ◉ Rigor mortis. Answer: Postmortem stiffening of the body ◉ Radiation safety officer (RSO).
Answer: Designated individual who is trained and certified to handle radiation hazards ◉ Scene perimeter. Answer: The boundary around a death scene ◉ Sclera. Answer: The so-called white of the eye, consisting of a tough, fibrous tissue ◉ Search and rescue. Answer: Volunteers trained in scene searching, processing, and rescue ◉ Single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. Answer: The type of camera that has interchangeable lenses ◉ Subclavian vein. Answer: The large vein draining the arm, which unites with the internal jugular vein ◉ Supine.
◉ Universal precautions. Answer: Recommendations that must be followed if contact with blood or bodily fluid is likely ◉ Ventricular fibrillation. Answer: Abnormal heart rate, which typically results in death ◉ Zooming. Answer: Using a multifocal-length lens (a lens that can be used for wide-angle pictures and changed to telephoto merely by twisting the lens barrel) to photograph a scene ◉ Evidence. Answer: Any item or material considered by the investigator to support the facts of the case ◉ Exemplar. Answer: An original item of evidence that serves as a model or example ◉ Personal property. Answer: Property on or near the body and belonging to the decedent, that can be returned to the next-of-kin
◉ Bribe. Answer: Money or favor offered to influence the conduct of a person in a position of trust ◉ Civil law. Answer: The body of law that describes the private rights and responsibilities of individuals and involves actions filed by one person against another ◉ Conflict of interest. Answer: The actual or seeming influence or reward obtained to perform a duty or function ◉ Criminal law. Answer: The body of law that deals with crimes against society and their punishment; these laws are prosecuted by the state ◉ Cross-examination. Answer: The examination of a witness by an adverse party other than the one who has called the witness to give testimony ◉ Deposition.
Answer: Bodies or body parts for which the individual responsible for disposing of the remains is unidentified or is unwilling to take responsibility ◉ Blunt-force trauma. Answer: Results from the impact of a blunt object against the skin ◉ Contusion/Bruise. Answer: Results from the crushing tissue and tearing small blood vessels, which releases blood into the surrounding tissues ◉ Abrasion. Answer: Scraping of the superficial layer of the skin by friction created by blunt-force trauma, superficial loss of skin ◉ Incisions. Answer: Clean cuts ◉ Osteoporosis. Answer: Decreased bone mass, decrease in bone calcification ◉ First degree burns. Answer: Superficial, similar to a sunburn
◉ Second degree burns. Answer: Damage to the upper layers of the skin, identified as blisters, which may result in scarring ◉ Third degree burns. Answer: Deep and through the entire skin, requiring skin grafting ◉ Fourth degree burns. Answer: Demonstrated by severe charring of the tissues ◉ 0 - 10%. Answer: This amount of carbon dioxide in the blood shows no symptoms ◉ 10 - 20%. Answer: This amount of carbon dioxide in the blood gives a slight headache ◉ 20 - 30%. Answer: This amount of carbon dioxide in the blood gives a headache to adults and causes death in children
