Study guide
10.2 Body Examination Photography & Morgue Intake Documentation
ABMDI Registry Certification Diplomate
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1 Chapter 1: Medicolegal Authority, Systems & Inter-Agency Coordination
1.1 Medical Examiner vs. Coroner Systems & Statutory Authority 1.2 Statutory Reportable Deaths & Mandatory Referrals 1.3 Inter-Agency Coordination & Jurisdictional Boundaries 1.4 Establishing the Decedent Profile & Essential Case Information 1.5 Funeral Homes, Removal Services & Ancillary Agency Coordination
2 Chapter 2: Communication, Death Notification & Documentation
2.1 Death Notification Protocols & Family Interaction 2.2 Witness Interviewing & Information Gathering 2.3 Written Reports, Public Records & Professional Communication 2.4 Preparing Families for Identification Viewing & Explaining Procedures 2.5 Facilitating Family Requests & Releasing Investigative Findings
3 Chapter 3: Scene Response, Security & Documentation
3.1 Initial Notification, Scene Assessment & Safety 3.2 Scene Photography & Systematic Visual Documentation 3.3 Scene Sketching, Mapping & Evidence Spatial Analysis 3.4 Professionalism, Dignity of the Deceased & Scene Conduct
4 Chapter 4: Postmortem Changes, Decomposition & Postmortem Interval (PMI)
4.1 Algor Mortis & Body Cooling Dynamics 4.2 Rigor Mortis, Livor Mortis & Cadaveric Spasm 4.3 Decomposition Stages & Environmental Taphonomy 4.4 Forensic Entomology & Environmental Markers
5 Chapter 5: Evidence Preservation, Toxicology & Chain of Custody
5.1 Trace Evidence, Personal Effects & Body Packaging 5.2 Postmortem Toxicology Principles & Specimen Collection 5.3 Overdose Investigations & Pharmacological Indicators
6 Chapter 6: Forensic Identification, Anthropology & NamUs
6.1 Scientific Identification Modalities 6.2 Secondary Identification & Medical Hardware 6.3 Unidentified Decedents, Forensic Anthropology & NamUs
7 Chapter 7: Trauma Typology & Forensic Pathology Principles
7.1 Sharp Force Trauma & Wound Characteristics 7.2 Blunt Force Trauma Typology 7.3 Gunshot Wounds & Range of Fire 7.4 Asphyxial Deaths & Environmental Trauma
8 Chapter 8: Cause, Manner & Pediatric Death Investigation
8.1 Cause, Mechanism, and Manner of Death Certification 8.2 Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Investigation (SUIDI) 8.3 Pediatric Non-Accidental Trauma & Fatal Neglect
9 Chapter 9: Special Investigations, Mass Fatalities & Legal/Ethical Responsibilities
9.1 In-Custody, Institutional & Occupational Deaths 9.2 Mass Fatality Incidents & Disaster Response 9.3 Legal Standards, Expert Testimony & Investigator Ethics 9.4 Investigator Health, Wellness & Occupational Stress
10 Chapter 10: Systematic Body Assessment, Documentation & Medical Artifacts
10.1 Anatomical Terminology & Systematic Body Mapping 10.2 Body Examination Photography & Morgue Intake Documentation 10.3 Resuscitative, Therapeutic & Surgical Artifacts
11 Chapter 11: Completing the Investigation - Follow-Up, Pathology Liaison & Case Closure
11.1 Case Follow-Up, Required Forms & Records Acquisition 11.2 Interacting with Forensic Pathologists & the Autopsy Process 11.3 Evidence Release, Property Return & Final Disposition of Remains
12 Chapter 12: Forensic Science Foundations & Medical Knowledge
12.1 Forensic Science Disciplines & Crime Laboratory Coordination 12.2 Medical Terminology & Clinical Record Interpretation 12.3 Natural Disease Processes & Sudden Unexpected Natural Death
10.2 Body Examination Photography & Morgue Intake Documentation
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Body photography follows the overall, mid-range, close-up progression, and every close-up of an injury is taken twice: once without a scale and once with a scale in the plane of the injury.
The camera must be perpendicular to the plane of the injury; oblique angles introduce parallax distortion that makes photographic measurement unreliable.
Clothing is not removed and the body is not washed at the scene, because both actions displace trace evidence and alter soot, stippling, and clothing defect correlation.
The body is transported in a pouch closed with a numbered tamper-evident seal, and the seal number is recorded at the scene and verified at the receiving facility.
Digital images are never deleted; original files are retained with their metadata intact, because deletion of case imagery creates a spoliation problem independent of the image content.
Last updated: September 2026
10.2 Body Examination Photography & Morgue Intake Documentation
Body Photography is the first named component of Body Assessment and Documentation in the ABMDI task list: knowledge of proper body photography techniques including what should be photographed . It is distinct from scene photography. Scene photography answers where and in what context ; body photography answers what does this person's body show , and it is the record the pathologist, the prosecution, and the defense will all work from.
1. The Photographic Progression Applied to a Body
The same three-tier discipline used for scenes applies to the decedent:
Overall. The entire body as found, clothed, from multiple aspects, establishing position and relationship to the immediate surface.
Mid-range. A body region with its surrounding context — the head and upper torso, an arm and the object it rests against — so that close-ups can be located within the whole.
Close-up. The individual finding, filling the frame.
Every close-up is taken twice: once without a scale, to foreclose any argument that the scale concealed part of the injury, and once with a scale in the same plane as the finding. Include a case identifier in the frame of the identification photograph and in the first image of each series.
2. Technical Requirements That Decide Admissibility
Requirement Reason
Camera sensor plane perpendicular to the plane of the injury Oblique angles produce parallax distortion; a photograph taken at an angle cannot support measurement
Scale in the same plane as the injury, not resting above or below it A scale on a different plane scales nothing
- Fill the frame with the finding Cropping later discards resolution
- Control lighting; avoid direct flash washout on wet or glossy surfaces Blown highlights erase margin detail
Use oblique (raking) light for patterned injuries and impressions Side lighting reveals texture and pattern invisible under flat frontal light
Include a color reference card where color is evidentiary Permits later color correction
Photograph before and after cleaning, when cleaning is authorized Documents that the finding was not created by cleaning
- Maintain a written photographic log Ties each frame to a numbered finding
- 3. What Must Be Photographed
Identification series (at intake):
Full face, cleaned only as authorized, with case number placard.
Any distinctive scar, mark, or tattoo, each with a scale.
Jewelry and unique personal effects in place, then again after removal.
Full-body series:
Anterior and posterior, fully clothed, before any handling.
Anterior and posterior, after clothing removal at the facility, with each garment photographed separately.
Soles of the feet, palms, and the plantar and palmar surfaces — routinely omitted and routinely probative for scene context.
Posterior scalp and neck after the body is turned, which is where missed injuries concentrate.
Injury and finding series:
Each wound, with and without scale, at overall and close range.
Livor mortis distribution, including blanching on pressure and any pattern impressions from surfaces or objects.
Any medical device or line in place , before anything is disturbed.
Hands, including palms, nail beds, and any bagging applied at the scene.
4. What Not To Do Before Documentation
Do not remove clothing at the scene. Removal displaces trace evidence, disturbs defects that must be correlated with wounds, and can transfer or lose soot and unburned powder.
Do not wash or clean the body at the scene. Blood distribution, drying patterns, soot, and stippling are findings.
Do not remove medical devices. Endotracheal tubes, lines, catheters, pads, and collars stay in place for the pathologist to evaluate placement and any associated injury.
Do not reposition before documenting the position as found , including livor distribution, which records the body's earlier position.
Do not photograph on a personal device , and do not permit any non-official photography.
5. Body Chain of Custody and Pouch Sealing
The decedent is evidence, and the chain of custody applies to the body as strictly as to a swab. BODY CUSTODY CHAIN
- Scene: clean sheet/liner -> body pouch -> NUMBERED TAMPER-EVIDENT SEAL
- Record: seal number, who applied it, date, time
- Transport: signed transfer, transporter identity, vehicle, departure time
- Facility intake: seal number VERIFIED against the scene record before opening
- Record: any discrepancy, damage, or evidence of tampering
- Storage: cooler location, case number, tracking tag
- Release: funeral home receipt, recipient identity verified, property transferred
A seal number that does not match, or a pouch that arrives unsealed, is a documented custody failure and is reported immediately — not quietly resealed.
6. Morgue Intake Documentation
Intake is a defined examination in its own right:
Verify the seal , then open and confirm identity against the accompanying paperwork and any applied identification band or toe tag.
Weight and length , recorded in the office's standard units.
Clothing inventory , item by item, with color, type, and the location and dimensions of any defect. Wet or bloody garments are air-dried on a clean surface before packaging in paper , never sealed wet in plastic.
Personal property inventory , with currency counted by denomination by two people and recorded, and valuables secured.
Evidence documented at the scene — bagged hands, swabs, seized items — confirmed present and logged.
Postmortem changes at intake , noting that rigor and livor findings at intake differ from scene findings and both should be recorded with times.
Refrigeration time , since it changes the trajectory of subsequent postmortem changes.
Radiography is obtained at intake for: all gunshot and suspected projectile cases, all suspected inflicted injury in children (full skeletal survey), unidentified remains (for antemortem comparison), suspected implanted devices before cremation authorization, and suspected retained foreign bodies. Full-body digital radiography, where available, documents projectile location before dissection and is frequently the image that locates a fragment that would otherwise be lost.
7. Digital Image Management
Never delete an image. Out-of-focus frames, accidental exposures, and mistakes stay in the set; deletion of case imagery is a spoliation issue regardless of content.
Retain originals in their native format with metadata intact; work from copies for any enhancement, and document every adjustment applied.
Transfer promptly from the camera to the office's managed storage, with write-once or audit-logged retention.
Restrict access to the case team; log every export.
Never store case images on personal devices or personal cloud accounts , and never transmit them through personal messaging applications.