ASIS International (ASIS) Professional Certified Investigator Practice Exam

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What is the term for the process where blood settles due to gravity after death?

Rigor mortis
Putrefaction
Livor mortis
Algor mortis

The correct answer is: Livor mortis

The term for the process where blood settles due to gravity after death is livor mortis. This phenomenon occurs when the heart stops pumping blood, leading to a pooling of blood in the lowest parts of the body, which can cause a discoloration of the skin. It typically begins within 30 minutes to a few hours after death and can help forensic investigators estimate the time of death. Understanding livor mortis is crucial, as it plays a significant role in post-mortem examinations and the determination of the circumstances surrounding a person's death. Other processes, such as rigor mortis, refer to the stiffening of muscles after death, putrefaction involves the decomposition of the body's tissues, and algor mortis relates to the cooling of the body after death. Each of these serves different forensic purposes, but livor mortis specifically addresses how gravity affects the distribution of blood in a deceased individual.