To ascertain the cause of death, the first step is to understand the differences between
1.Mode or Mechanism of death
2.Manner of death and
3.Cause of death
Mode or Mechanism of death
It is a derangement or disturbance by which a cause of death exerts itslethal effect (e.g., cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, cardio-respiratory arrest); this must not be used as an underlying cause of death.
Manner of death
It is the way in which the death occurred. It can be classified as below:
Manner of death
Natural
Unnatural
1.Deaths due to biomedical causes
1.Accident
2.Homicide
3.Suicide
Pending investigation
Pending investigation is where it is not clear whether the death was due to a natural or unnatural cause and is therefore under forensic/police investigation.
Cause of death
Cause of death is a term used to indicate the medical cause of death.It lists the disease(s) or injuries that caused death.
It includes:
a. Underlying CoD
b. Immediate CoD
c. Antecedent CoD
You will learn more about each of these further on.
It is important to differentiate between the Mode, Manner and Cause of death in an individual
On a death certificate, only the Cause of death and Manner of death are to be filled and not Mode of death
