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forensic medicine

 
Dictionary: forensic medicine
 

n.

The branch of medicine that interprets or establishes the facts in civil or criminal law cases. Also called medical jurisprudence.


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Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Forensic medicine
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The branch of medicine concerned with the resolution of legal issues by the application of scientific medical knowledge. The issues may be of criminal or civil nature. The specialty of forensic medicine is often referred to as legal medicine in Europe and in Spanish-speaking countries. The development of forensic medicine began in Europe in the early nineteenth century. Although forensic medicine has its basis in the specialty of pathology, physicians in other specialties, such as psychiatry, orthopedics, cardiology, and neurology as well as specialists in other disciplines, may be called on to resolve legal questions posed by judges, attorneys, investigators, and hearing boards.

In death investigations, a number of forensic specialists may work together. A forensic odontologist may be called in to identify the deceased person through dental examination, or the perpetrator of bite marks left on the deceased's body. A forensic anthropologist may be needed to identify skeletal remains; a forensic toxicologist for the identification of poisons or drugs; and a criminalist for investigation at the scene and collection of evidence, or for study of trace evidence such as blood stains, hair, paints, and seminal fluid. In cases of equivocal suicides, forensic psychiatrists and psychologists may be called in. Recently the biomechanical engineer has been added to the roster of forensic specialists, to test and study injury patterns to determine how the injury came about. The forensic medical specialist may express an opinion in writing or may be required to testify in person in the courtroom. As with all legal proceedings, the physician witness must be cognizant of issues such as the degree of proof, the chain of custody of specimens or evidence, competency of the witness, and court procedures.

An important development in forensic medicine is genetic analysis. Every individual has a unique genetic content determined by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences. The DNA present in forensic samples such as hair, bloodstains, and seminal fluid can identify a suspect. One analysis technique is called DNA fingerprinting; it can be used to compare the DNA sequence of a suspect or a defendant with material evidence at the crime scene. The DNA is broken into unique fragments by restriction endonucleases and then separated by electrophoresis. The pattern seen after hybridization with specific probes is called the DNA fingerprint, and like an ordinary fingerprint is characteristic of the individual. DNA analysis is also used in identification of an unknown person or of parts of a human body. Paternity exclusion by ABO blood typing has been replaced by DNA fingerprinting. See also Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); Forensic anthropology; Forensic toxicology.


 
Dental Dictionary: medical jurisprudence
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n

The science that applies the principles and practice of the different branches of medicine in the elucidation of doubtful questions in a court of justice. Also called forensic medicine.

 

Branch of law dealing with various aspects of health care. Health law was traditionally known as legal medicine or forensic medicine and included primarily forensic pathology and forensic psychiatry, in which pathologists were asked to determine and testify to the cause of death in cases of suspected homicide or to aspects of various injuries involving crimes such as assault and rape. Today health law is applied not only to medicine but also to health care in general. Health law is especially important in cases with complicated ethical implications — for example, in the case of comatose patients who are kept alive by mechanical ventilation, when physicians and families are forced to decide whether or not it is more or less ethical to remove the ventilator. Other important aspects of health law include patients' rights and medical malpractice.

For more information on health law, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: medical jurisprudence
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medical jurisprudence or forensic medicine, the application of medical science to legal problems. It is typically involved in cases concerning blood relationship, mental illness, injury, or death resulting from violence. Autopsy (see post-mortem examination) is often used to determine the cause of death, particularly in cases where foul play is suspected. Post-mortem examination can determine not only the immediate agent of death (e.g. gunshot wound, poison), but may also yield important contextual information, such as how long the person has been dead, which can help trace the killing. Forensic medicine has also become increasingly important in cases involving rape. Modern techniques use such specimens as semen, blood, and hair samples of the criminal found in the victim's bodies, which can be compared to the defendant's genetic makeup through a technique known as DNA fingerprinting; this technique may also be used to identify the body of a victim. The establishment of serious mental illness by a licensed psychologist can be used in demonstrating incompetency to stand trial, a technique which may be used in the insanity defense (see insanity), albeit infrequently.

Bibliography

See C. C. Malik, A Short Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence (1985); C. Wecht, ed., Legal Medicine (1987).


 
 

 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more