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En uno de sus apartados permite el acceso a los sumarios de las principales revistas de la especialidad. En el otro, se enlaza con Medline en una serie de búsquedas seleccionadas sobre diversos aspectos de la Medicina Legal y Forense |
Aquí he reunido una selección de normas, tanto legales como del ámbito de la Ética y Deontología médica |
Contiene los programas de algunas asignaturas y cursos, con esquemas de algunas de ellas y presentaciones de los seminarios |
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MEDICINA
LEGAL Y FORENSE
Selección de recursos
propios y enlaces sobre Medicina Forense
y Criminalística, Leyes nacionales e internacionales y
Ética
y Deontología Médica
CONTINUAR
Páginas Personales
Zeno's Forensic Page
Hank's forensic page
(Taiwan)
Reddy's Forensic Page
Forensic Medicine Homepage of
Prof. Dr. Barend A.J. Cohen
Cecil Greek's Criminal Justice
Page
Dean Fetterolf's Home page/Law
Enforcement
Página de F. Verdú
Pascual
Profesor titular de Medicina
Legal de la Universidad de Valencia. Tiene múltiples enlaces y
utilidades; a destacar, la versión on-line de su libro
¿Qué dice el forense?.
Página de Medicina Forense
de María Leonor de Souza
Esta página contiene un
interesante atlas on-line de medicina forense. Muestra fotos de
lesiones contusas, incisas, inciso-contusas, punzantes, lesiones por
agentes físicos, químicas, asfixias, imágenes de
sexología forense, lesiones postmortales, signos de muerte y
fenómenos cadavéricos.
Hiroshi Matsumoto's Home
Page
Página Forense del Dr.
Jorge Herbstein
Institutos y Departamentos de
Medicina Legal/Forense
Alemania
Freie Universität Berlin
Rechtsmedizin Humboldt-Universität Berlin Rechtsmedizin
Charité Berlin
Rechtsmedizin Bonn
Med.Fakultät - Dresden
Rechtsmedizin - Universität
Düsseldorf
Rechtsmedizin Erlangen
Rechtsmedizin - Universität
Essen
Zentrum Rechtsmedizin -
Frankfurt
Rechtsmedizin -Freiburg
Rechtsmedizin - Gießen
Inst. für Rechtsmedizin
Hannover
Göttingen - Institut
für Rechtsmedizin der Universität Rechtsmedizin - Greifswald
Rechtsmedizin - Halle
Rechtsmedizin - Hamburg
Rechtsmedizin - Hannover
Universität Heidelberg
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena. Institut für
Rechtsmedizin
Rechtsmedizin Kiel
Institut für Rechtsmedizin
Köln
Institut für Rechtsmedizin
Lübeck
Universität Magdeburg
Institute für Forensic Medicine in Mainz
Universität München
Universität Rostock
Institut für Rechtsmedizin
Würzburg
Argentina
Dpto. de Medicina Legal y
Toxicología de la Univ. de Buenos Aires
Sociedad Iberoamericana de
Información Científica - Argentina
Australia
Victorian Institute of Forensic
Medicine, Australia
Institute of Forensic Medicine -
Sydney
Austria
Rechtsmedizin Graz
Rechtsmedizin Innsbruck
Rechtsmedizin Linz
Gerichtsmedizin Salzburg
Institut für Rechtsmedizin
Wien
Brasil
Instituto Médico-Legal
Afranio Peixoto Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
Dpto. de Anatomía
Patológica y Medicina LegalFaculdade de Medicina da Universidade
Federal de Minas Gerais
Dpto. de Psiquiatría e
Medicina LegalUniversidade Federal de Rio Grande do Sul.
Chequia
Czech Forensic Medicine
Page
Chile
Dep. de Medicina Legal da
Universidade do Chile
Colombia
Instituto Nacional de Medicina
Legal y Ciencias Forenses
Medicina Legal
Medicina Legal - Desastres
España
Instituto Vasco de Medicina Legal
(España)
La primera página de un
Instituto de Medicina Legal con información útil, tanto
para los profesionales de Justicia como para los ciudadanos.
Instituto Universitario de
Medicina Legal de Santiago de Compostela (España)
Junta de Andalucía:
Institutos de Medicina Legal.
Instituto Universitario de
Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses de Sevilla (España).
Dpto. de Medicina Legal y
Toxicología. Univ. Complutense (Madrid)
Area de Conocimiento de Medicina
Legal y Forense de la Facultad de Medicina y Odontología de la
Universidad del País Vasco
Dpto. de Medicina Legal y
Toxicología de a Universidad de Granada (algunas páginas
no están actualizadas)
Departament de Psiquiatria i de
Medicina Legal de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (algunas
páginas no están actualizadas)
Area de Medicina Legal y Forense.
Univ. de Valladolid
Estados Unidos
Baylor University, Forensic
Science Department
National Association of Medical
Examiners
Virginia Institute of Forensic
Science and Medicine
WV Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner
Broward County Medical Examiner,
Florida
Iowa State Medical
Examiner
Massachusetts Medical
Examiner
Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner (University North Carolina)
Orange County Coroner's
Office
Washington, Pierce County Medical
Examiner
Hungría
Institute of Forensic Medicin -
Budapest
Department of Forensic Medicine -
Pecs
Japón
Department of Forensic Medicine -
Yamagata (Japón)
The Medico-Legal Society of
Japan
National Research Institute of
Police Science (Japón)
Reino Unido
Forensic Pathology - University
or Glasgow
Singapur
Institute of Science and Forensic
Medicine (ISFM) Singapore
Suiza
Institute of Legal Medicine
Berna
Institut für Rechtsmedizin
Zürich
Turquía
Institute of Legal Medicine and
Forensic Science of the Istanbul University
Uruguay
Departamento de Medicina Legal.
Facultad de Medicina- Universidad de la República
Asociaciones
Asociación Nacional de
Médicos Forenses
Sociedad Española de
Medicina Legal y Forense
Asociación Andaluza de
Médicos Forenses
Asociación Aragonesa de
Médicos Forenses
Asociación de
Médicos Forenses de la República de Argentina
Asociación de Peritos de
la Provincia de Buenos Aires
American Academy of Forensic
Sciences (AAFS)
National Forensic Science
Technology Center (NFSTC)
National Institute of Forensic
Science
International Institute of
Forensic Science
American Board of Forensic
Odontology
American College of Forensic
Examiners
The International Association of
Forensic Toxicologists
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Verkehrsmedizin e.V.
Ärztekammer Steiermark
Infoservice der Ärztekammer
Nordrhein (Deutschland)
Arbeitsgemeinschaft der
Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften "Prävention,
Standards und zukünftige Entwicklungen in den medizinischen
Spezialgebieten" - Rechtsmedizin
Publicaciones/Revistas
Revista Española de
Medicina Legal
En esta web encontrará la
versión electrónica de la publicación
española más antigua de Medicina Forense (Revista
Española de Medicina Legal) editada por la Asociación
Nacional de Médicos Forenses.
E-mail: anmf@arrakis.es
Cuadernos de Medicina
Forense
Encontrará la
versión electrónica de la publicación trimestral
de la Asociación Andaluza de Médicos Forenses.
E-mail: aamefo@cica.es
Revista de Psiquiatría
Forense, Sexología y Praxis. Argentina.
Medicina Legal de Costa
Rica
Revista Brasileira de Medicina
Legal Revista brasileña on-line de Medicina Legal. En fase de
construcción.
Revista Española de
Patología Órgano de las Sociedades de Anatomía
Patológica y de Citología.
British Medical Journal
The Lancet
American Journal of
Pathology
Deutsches Ärzteblatt
Forensic Science
International
Forensic Science
Communications
The American Journal of Forensic
Medicine and Pathology
Journal of Canadian Society of
Forensic Science
Amedeo: The Medical Literature
Guide
The Free Medical Journals
Site
Criminología
Revista Electrónica de
Ciencia Penal y Criminología.. Publica estudios y
artículos científicos sobre materias penales y
criminológicas.
Derecho Médico
Asociación de Abogados
Especializados en Responsabilidad Civil y Seguro/.
Derecho.com/. E-mail:
info@derecho.com
Todalaley.com. E-mail:
info@todalaley.com
Lexur - Legislación y BOE
gratis. Web desde la que puede descargar la legislación
española básica y recibir gratis el Boletín
Oficial del Estado por email diariamente.
E-mail:
webmaster@lexureditorial.com
Sociedad Iberoamericana de
Derecho Médico (SIDEME). Tiene la finalidad de favorecer la
promoción y difusión de los estudios relativos al derecho
médico y a la salud.
Información (.pdf)
Derecho y Sanidad. Página
de Julio Cesar Galán Cortés (Licenciado en Derecho.
Doctor en Medicina).
Página de Derecho
Médico de Prof. Genival Veloso (Brasil)
Derecho Médico.
Página del Prof. Genival Veloso (Catedrático de Medicina
Legal y Deontología Médica. Universidad Federal de
Paraíba - Brasil). Sobre: derecho médico,
bioética, deontología, medicina legal e
legislación sanitaria.
La Página de los Links de
Derecho. Con más de 240 links en castellano y más de 600
en inglés, también hay links en italiano, francés,
alemán y portugués.
Derecho y Sanidad
Asociación Española
de Derecho Sanitario
Revista latinoamericana de
derecho medico y medicina legal
Patología
Revista Electrónica de la
Autopsia
Protocolos del Grupo de Trabajo
para el Estudio y Prevención de la Muerte Súbita del
Lactante de la Asociación Española de Pediatría.
Club de Autopsias de la Sociedad
Española de Anatomía Patológica
Forense.org "Se trata de un
proyecto científico que llevamos a cabo un grupo de forenses
catalanes, interesados en la investigación y divulgación
de la medicina forense, así como de algunas de sus
especialidades como la psiquiatría forense, tanatología
forense, traumatología forense, o la antropología
forense".
Academia Internacional de
Patologia
Comunidad Virtual de
Anatomía Patológica
American Society of Investigative
Pathology (gopher) Department of Pathology - Florida
Forensic Web Page at USFWS
University of Alberta - Pathology
and Laboratory Medicine
University of Pittsburgh - Dept.
of Pathology
Universidad de Navarra - Servicio
de Anatomía Patológica - Interpat
Yale University - Department of
Pathology
Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology (AFIP)
Virginia Division of Forensic
Science Home page The Virtual Autopsy (departamento de Anatomía
Patológica de Leicester -Gran Bretaña-)
Atlas of Human Anatomy in Cross
Section.
Toxicología/Química/Genética
Forense
Instituto Nacional de
Toxicología.
Lab Tests Online
AOAC
The International Association of
Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT)
Pharmaceutical connections
Spectra of drugs, polymers,
toners, organic compounds and minerals
WWW Drug Information
Server
Forensic Toxicology The European
DNA profiling group (EDNAP)
Toxicology Laboratory
Use of DNA in
Identification
Psiquiatría Forense
Forensic psychiatry
(gopher-service)
Psychiatry On-Line
Search of forensic psychiatry and
files (gopher-service) Hooper´s Forensic Psychiatry
Odontología Forense
Forensic Odontology/dentistry-
European page
Forensic Odontology in the
UK
International Organization for
Forensic Odonto-Stomatology (IOFOS)
American Society of Forensic
Odontology
Ortho-ID/Ident-ID. Identification
Network.
Antropología Forense
ForensicArchaeology.Com
Laboratorio de
Antropopología Forense (Instituto Anatómico Forense de
Madrid)
Introducció,n a la
Antropología Forense. Análisis e identificación de
restos óseos humanos. (JV Rodríguez Cuenca, Ph.D.)
Cálculo de talla mediante
longitud de huesos largos (Dra. M.C. De Mendonça)
Forensic Anthropology, Florida
Atlantic University
Forensic Anthropology
Bibliography
Forensic Anthropology course for
pathologists
Search for forensic Anthropology
at KOVACS
Entomología Forense
Entomología Forense en
Argentina.
Forensic Entomology
Página de Mark Benecke
The Forensic Entomology Pages,
International (Morten Starkeby
Directorio de Entomología
Forense (Legal and Social Medicine)
Entomology Index of Internet
Resources
Entomología Forense (Poder
Judicial - Costa Rica)
Informática Forense
FPpda.com Página de
Timothy Allen que muestra distintas herramientas, programas y
utilidades médicas para PDAs.
snapDates 1.0 Aplicación
para PDA (Palm OS) que permite calcular, entre otros, días entre
fechas.
Forensic Image Processing
Mid-Atlantic Association of
Forensic Scientists
Identificación
Craneofacial
International Association for
Craniofacial Identification
Servicio de
listas/Directorio
Lista Psi-Forense. La lista tiene
una vocación interdisciplinar y convoca a psicólogos,
psiquiatras, juristas, médicos, trabajadores sociales,
educadores y otros profesionales o profesores universitarios
interesados en la aplicación de la psicología al
ámbito legal.
FORENS-L Mailing list : The
mailing list on forensic science and medicine
VDC-L: Página web de la
Lista de Valoración del Daño Corporal
Es la primera lista, sobre el
tema, que existe en toda la red. Dirigida a hispanohablantes.
Forensic Organizations
World Directory of Criminological
Institutes
Finding email addresses in
forensics
Instituciones
Plan Nacional Sobre Drogas
Fundación de Ayuda contra
la Drogadicción
Jurisprudencia del TC
Ministerio de Justicia
Consejo General del Poder
Judicial
CESID (Centro Superior de
Información de la Defensa)
FBI
Hong Kong Government Forensic
Laboratory
Televisión
Gerichtsmedizin Interesantes
artículos, con entrevistas y reportajes sobre la Medicina
Forense en la ZDF - segundo canal de TV alemana - (en alemán).
Otros
Extracto del Certificado de
Defunción del Papa Juan Pablo II archivo en pdf.
Forensic Medicine for Medical
Students con enlaces y artículos relacionados con las ciencias
forenses.
The Forensic Panel Letter
Contiene múltiples artículos relacionados con las
ciencias forenses.
Lex Salud Página de
información coordinada por el Dr. JC Galán Cortés.
Diario Médico
www.hispamed.org Nuevo portal
sanitario.
MEDLINE Acceso a PubMed
Buscar en MEDLINE con PubMed
Completa guía de uso de fisterra.com
MEDLINE en Internet. Tutorial
sobre Medline.
Visita Guiada a
Medline/PubMed
La Página de los
Buscadores en Castellano
Ballistics Bibliography
The Kennedy Assassination
Medical-Legal Illustration
The US Fish and Wildlife
Forensics Laboratory, in Ashland, Oregon
Gunshot Wound to the Right
Chest
Gunshot Wound to the
Abdomen
Gerichtsmedizin
Wann
wurde die erste Obduktion vorgenommen und welche Fälle haben dazu
geführt, dass noch heute Menschen Nachforschungen über
mögliche Todesursachen anstellen? Welche Analysemethoden sind die
effektivsten? Wie arbeiten die Ermittler heute? Fragen, die vor allem
die Gerichtsmedizin beantworten muss ...
Abenteuer Forschung
Wettlauf mit dem Verbrechen
Hightech und Gentechnik helfen,
dem Verbrechen auf die Spur zu kommen
Kriminalbiologie (2): Wie Pflanzenreste die
Täter überführen
Stumme Zeugen: Wie Insekten den Todeszeitpunkt
preisgeben
Unverwechselbar: Wie ein Täter eindeutig
identifiziert werden kann
Lesenswert: Literaturtipps und Internetlinks zum
Thema
Bilder zum Thema: Die Fliegen-Uhr der Kriminologen
Seit den
Terroranschlägen in den letzten Jahren gewinnt das Thema
Überwachung als Terrorismus-Prävention auch in Deutschland an
Bedeutung. Anhand wahrer Fälle aus den Fahndungsakten deutscher
Polizeipräsidien demonstriert Abenteuer Wissen, was bereits heute
durch Video- oder Stimmanalysen, Internet-Spurensuche oder chemische
Nachweisverfahren möglich ist.
Sendung vom 19.05.2004 um 22.15
Uhr
Im Jahr 1953
veröffentlichten der Brite Francis Crick und der US-Amerikaner
James Watson eine bahnbrechende wissenschaftliche Erkenntnis: die
Doppelhelix des menschlichen Erbgutes, die Struktur der DNA. Sie
glaubten, das Rätsel der Vererbung gelöst zu haben. Zu dieser
Zeit dachte noch niemand an eine kriminalistische Nutzung von
Erbinformationen. Doch die Arbeiten von Crick und Watson lieferten die
Grundlage für die Entwicklungen der Gentechnik und für den
genetischen Fingerabdruck, der heute zum Standardrepertoire eines jeden
Kriminalisten gehört.
In dem
Städtchen Enderby werden zwei Schülerinnen ermordet
Zwei Morde - ein Täter
1986
wurde die 15-jährige Dawn Ashford in der Nähe des
Örtchens Enderby vergewaltigt und erschlagen. Bereits zwei Jahre
zuvor war die gleichaltrige Schülerin Lynda Mann auf dieselbe
schreckliche Art ermordet worden. Damals stellten die Ermittler zwar
eine Spermaspur sicher, konnten aber lediglich die Blutgruppe des
Täters feststellen. Trotz intensiver Ermittlungen der Polizei
blieb die Suche nach dem Täter ohne Ergebnis.
Die
DNA-Analyse - einer der größte Fortschritte in der
Kriminalistik
Sir Alec Jeffreys
In den
80er Jahren arbeitete Sir Alec Jeffreys an der Universität von
Leicester an molekularbiologischen Methoden zur Identifizierung von
Personen. Dem englischen Professor gelang es, aus menschlichen Zellen
ein typisches Gen-Muster herauszulesen, das nicht für bestimmte
Merkmale verantwortlich ist und trotzdem für jeden Menschen
charakteristisch ist.
Es ist der Beginn einer
Entwicklung, die aus winzigen Spuren am Tatort einen zweifelsfreien
Beweis machen soll, der "todsicher" zum Täter führt. Wie beim
Fingerabdruck die Linienmuster der Fingerkuppen einen Täter
überführen können, vergleichen die Kriminalisten beim
genetischen Fingerabdruck die unverwechselbaren Eigenschaften der
Erbmasse.
Ein Muster
wird sichtbar, das jeden Menschen eindeutig identifiziert
Das Resultat - ein
Strichcode
Die
molekulargenetische Spur, bekannt als DNA, ist die englische
Abkürzung für Desoxyribonukleinsäure. Mit einem
chemischen Trick gelang es Jeffreys, die Unterschiede sichtbar zu
machen: Mit Hilfe von Enzymen wird die DNA in verschieden lange
Bruchstücke zerlegt. Anschließend werden diese
Bruchstücke in ein Gel geimpft, das unter Strom gesetzt wird.
Dabei ordnen sie sich ihrer Länge nach entsprechend zu einem
unsichtbaren Muster. Durch Hinzufügen einer radioaktiven Substanz
werden die spezifischen Strukturen aus dem Erbgut auf einem
Röntgenfilm sichtbar. Das Resultat ist ein Strichcode, wie auf
einer Verpackung aus dem Supermarkt. Ein Muster, das jeden Menschen
eindeutig identifiziert.
Aufgrund der
DNA-Analyse kann der Mörder gefasst werden
Der erste DNA-Massentest
Im Fall
der 15-jährigen Dawn Ashford erklärte sich ein
Kriminalbeamter bereit, die Methode in dem Mordfall zu testen. Wie auch
im Mordfall Lynda Mann wurde Sperma sichergestellt, das Jeffreys ein
und derselben Person zuordnen konnte. 1987 wurde in England der erste
Massentest der Kriminalgeschichte durchgeführt. 5000 Männer
im Alter von 16 bis 34 Jahren aus der näheren Umgebung von Enderby
mussten eine Speichelprobe abgeben. Dieser Test entlarvte nicht nur das
falsche Geständnis eines 17-Jährigen, sondern führte
auch zum Täter.
Weiter mit:
Todsichere Beweise?
Neun Jahre später wurde in
Großbritannien eine DNA-Datenbank eingerichtet, in der
mittlerweile die DNA-Analysen von mehr als fünf Millionen
Kriminellen gespeichert sind.
Welcome to the only website for
medical students dedicated to forensic medicine, established in 1998.
This subject is now rarely taught
at undergraduate level (particularly in the UK) and so this site
provides a unique resource for clinical forensic medicine, legal
medicine and forensic pathology.
Some may find the subject matter
distressing. It is not my intention to offend, but to provide
educational materials for medical students (and others) - if you are
likely to be offended by the subject of violent injury/death and the
aftermath of such violence, please do not proceed any further. This
website is not suitable for viewing by minors.
If you are interested in any
aspect of forensic medicine, and you can not find what you want on this
site, or on any site featured in the links pages, let me know !
Student opportunity ...
The Royal Society of Medicine
Section for Clinical Forensic and Legal Medicine are inviting
expressions of interest for the position of 'Student Observer' on their
Section Council.
Successful applicants will be
required to attend quarterly meetings at the RSM headquarters in
London, and represent the interests of medical students.
Expressions of interest from
junior students (ie. those in their first few years of studies) are
particularly welcomed.
Interested students should email
me at rmj@forensicmed.co.uk explaining why they wish to be considered
for the position, with a description of how they might further interest
in forensic medicine amongst their peers.
Expressions of interest should be
received by August 31st 2005, after which they will be considered by
the Section Council. The successful student will then be invited to the
nearest Council meeting, and may be appointed at that stage.
Clinical Forensic Medicine
Conference
Read all about the successful
conference on clinical forensic medicine for medical students that took
place at Guy's Hospital on Sat 16th April 2002 (organised by the
European Medical Students' Association (EMSA)).
Electives ...
Have you been on an elective in
forensic medicine/ psychiatry ? If so, tell me all about it !
I undertook a 9 week elective in
forensic medicine at Guy's Hospital Forensic Medicine Department and
the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, New York City in the summer of
2001- follow this link to read all about it!
I have tried to illustrate each
topic with photographs and example links and books. However, I am
always on the lookout for new material, so if you come across anything
interesting, email me !
Recent additions to the website
...
Post-Mortem MRI
This new section introduces the
current 'hot topic' of the use of imaging techniques as an adjunct or
replacement of the traditional autopsy, including references to the
most recent and relevant papers ...
The clinical application of MRI
to cardiovascular pathology is covered in a BMJ review (Vol 329 11th
Dec 2004 pp. 1386-1389)..
Gadolinium enhanced images of
patient with lateral wall myocardial infarction. Four chamber view of
heart (A), with bright signal in lateral wall of left ventricle (LV).
Signal results from gadolinium late enhancement as result of
accumulation of contrast agent in scar tissue. (B) Corresponding short
axis cut through left ventricle (Source: Prasad et al BMJ
2004:329:1386-1389)
General Topics
...
Read articles on forensic
medicine by the website's author...
Following the death of Paula
Ramsden at Beachy Head near Eastbourne, Sussex, UK, a new section looks
at how such deaths are investigated, and why there are a relatively
large number of deaths at this beauty spot.
Fundamental
review of the Coroners service
Tom Luce has recently reported
back following the Fundamental review of the Coroner's service in
England and Wales. An overview of the recommendations made, as well as
the interface between this review and that of the Shipman Inquiry is
presented.
The government have responded to
these recommendations in a 'position paper'. Read about their
proposals, and the types of deaths to be reported to the Coroner and
new office of 'Medical Examiner'.
Asthma deaths
A recent article outlined the
pathological features to look out for when determining whether a person
has died from their asthma. A brief overview of this article is
presented.
Infection
control during autopsies
A review of the main precautions
to be taken when carrying out autopsies is presented.
The decline of
the teaching autopsy
Read BMJ articles and letters
dealing with the decline in the use of the autopsy within medical
schools
Shaken Baby
Syndrome
Recently in the news in the UK,
find links to relevant websites and read several articles recently
published in the BMJ (328:719,720,754 and 766 27th March 2004)
'Perimacular
retinal folds from childhood head trauma' Lantz et al
'The evidence
base for shaken baby syndrome' (Editorial) Geddes and Plunkett
'Shaken baby
syndrome - pathological diagnosis rests on the combined triad, not on
individual injuries' (Editorial) Harding, Risdon and Kraus
online
responses
Transilluminated retinal image of
right eye at autopsy showing circinate, elevated, perimacular retinal
fold and extensive retinal haemorrhages
Forensic
anthropology ...
Forensic pathologists and
forensic anthropologists are often required to give their opinion as to
whether organs/ organic material is human or not. A new section
identifies the differences between organs and skeletons of
(mainly) common food animals - material that is most likely to be
dumped in rivers/ common ground etc, only to be found by a member of
the public, fearing that it may be human ...
Find a review of the story of
'the body farm' and its creator Bill Bass, together with links to
forensic anthopology resources in Book Reviews.
Forensic
entomology ...
There has been a couple of
'special edition' journals featuring forensic entomology articles,
which may be of interest to readers. These include the Forensic Science
International Vol 120 (2001) (www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint -
accessible for subscribers to www.sciencedirect.com). More recently
Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Technology (5(1)
2004) has repeated the format with some fantastic articles. These can
be freely accessed at www.geradts.com/~anil/ij/indexpapers.html or the
mirror site www.beneeke.com/maggots.html. Happy reading!
Forensic
Science/ Medicine ...
Read about the forensic aspects
of cocaine. This section outlines the forensic aspects of cocaine
abuse, which is on the increase in the UK, particularly in London and
the South East. Cocaine has wide ranging effects on the body, and
cocaine intoxication as well as chronic cocaine use can give rise to
serious and life threatening pathologies.
Cocaine related sudden death
represents a particular challenge to the forensic pathologist in terms
of interpretation, because often a range of evidence has to be taken
into account before a cause of death can be ascribed to cocaine with
the required degree of certainty. This is of particular importance when
the death has occurred in police custody – a highly politically charged
situation. Enormous advances have been made over the last decade in the
understanding of the pathology associated with cocaine abuse, and as
the prevalence of cocaine use spreads, it is likely that cocaine is
going to exert it’s influence on substance-related deaths in the UK,
and thus become an issue of increasing importance to professionals
working in forensic science and medicine.
The BMJ (bmj.com Berger 325
(7377) 1403) recently produced a useful summary of how alcohol breath
tests are carried out, and the science behind the tests.
As part of the forthcoming ABC of
Alcohol (Paton A and Touquet R), the BMJ
(http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/330/7482/85) have
published an introductory article 'Alcohol in the body', setting out
the pharmacokinetics of alcohol, and includes some basic charts of
blood concentrations versus hours.
Forensic Science
Dr. Lemos of the Forensic
Toxicology Unit at St. Georges Hospital Medical School (London) writes
about the development of forensic science, and what a modern forensic
scientist does in a new 'Forensic Science Page'.
Medical Law and Ethics ...
In September
2000 the UK Court of Appeal delivered their judgement to what they
described as a ‘truly unique’ case – that of the conjoined twins
'Jodie' and 'Mary' (Re: A (Children)).
They were
being asked to consider whether a High Court judge had been correct to
rule that the proposed separation of the twins, which would result in
the death of one of them, was lawful, or whether it amounted to murder.
In the opinion of the Court of Appeal, the proposed operation was ‘not
unlawful’, an opinion justified on varied legal grounds including that
of ‘necessity’.
At the heart
of the legal debate in this case was the question of whether decisions
about the relative worth of the life of individuals could be legally
made, when those decisions result in the loss of the life considered to
be less worthy. A new section examines the legal basis for these types
of decisions, and consider whether the decision in Re: A (Children)
will have any impact in other areas of medical practice where ‘value of
life’ decisions are made.
Forensic Psychiatry/Psychology
...
And a new section on Forensic
Psychiatry - presenting a history of 'criminal responsibility', and the
'treatment of the mentally abnormal offender' ('Forensic
Psychiatry').
Review of
Forensic Pathology Services in England and Wales
In March 2003, following a
consultation period, the Home Office Minister, John Denham announced a
package of measures to modernise and improve forensic pathology
services. £5.6 million was identified for the training of 30 new
forensic pathologists, with £10 million for the establishing of
regional centres of excellence, including new / improved mortuary
facilities.
The first batch of trainees were
taken on in August 2003, and a further 4 posts have recently been
advertised for consultants in histopathology wishing to undertake
conversion training to forensic pathology.
Work is also underway on the
development of group practices following national standards, and the
establishment of the centres of excellence.
Further information is available
from the Home Office Science Policy Unit (Room 530), Horseferry Road,
Dean Ryle Street, London SW1P 2AW.
Following the review, the Royal
College of Pathologists and the Home Office Policy Advisory Board for
Forensic Pathology have published a 'Code of Practice and Performance
Standards for Forensic Pathologists'. This can be accessed via the
RCPath website - Publications section.
Online Forensic Medicine Journal
...
Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal
of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
This on-line journal contains
some fantastic articles and case-studies, as well as a regular
undergraduate section and makes for fascinating reading. Visit it today
!
Prof. Aggrawal also has several
other forensic related sites, including his 'Popular Forensic Medicine
page', and 'Forensic Toxicology page'.
Full book reviews recently added
to the Books section ..
‘Handbook of
Paediatric Autopsy Pathology’, Gilbert-Barness E, Debich-Spicer
DE, (With accompanying CDROM) HumanaPress
'Cardiac
Physiology CDRom', Swanevelder J, Lin T (2001) MMT Medical Ltd
'Fluid Balance
CDRom', Appadu B, Griffiths R, Hunt P, Stoker M, Weisz M. 2003 MMT
Medical Ltd
'Forensic
Taphonomy. The postmortem fate of human remains', Haglund WD and Sorg
MH (1997) CRC Press
'Forensic
Botany - Priciples and applications to criminal casework', Coyle HM
(2004) CRC Press
'Forensic
Pathology Reviews - Volume 2', Tsokos M (Ed) 2004 Humana Press
'Firearms, The
Law and Forensic Ballistics', Warlow TA (2nd Ed), Taylor and Francis/
CRC Press
'The Forensic
Pharmacology of Drugs of Abuse', Drummer O.H and ODell M (2001) Arnold
Publishers
Neuropathology
(2nd Ed), Ellison D. Love S. et al Elsevier/ Mosby
Robbins Review
of Pathology, Klatt and Kumar 2005 Elsevier
Gray's Anatomy
E-dition (39th Ed), Standring (Ed) 2004 Elsevier/ Churchill
Livingstone
'Neuropathology Techniques', Dawson TP et al 2003 Arnold Publishers
'Forensic
Gynaecology', Dalton. M (Ed) (2004) Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynaecologists www.rcog.org.uk
'Forensic
Dental Evidence - An Investigator's Handbook', Bowers C.M.Elsevier
Forensic Science,
'Forensic
Practice in Criminal Cases', Townley L. and Ede R. (2003), The Law
Society
'Knight's
Forensic Pathology',(3rd Ed) Saukko P. and B. Knight (2004)
'Forensic
Medicine: Clinical and Pathological Aspects', Jason Payne-James,
Anthony Busuttil, William Smock (Ed)
'Death's Acre
- Inside the legendry 'Body Farm'', Bass B. and Jefferson J.
'Rechtsmedizin
systematisch', Penning et al 1997 [German]
'Estimation of
Time Since Death in the Early Post-mortem Period', C. Henssge, T.
Krompecher, B. Knight (Ed), B. Madea, Nokes L. (2nd Ed)
'Simpson's
Forensic Medicine', Richard Shepherd (12th Ed)
'Colour Atlas
of Anatomical Pathology', Cooke R.A., Stewart B. 2004
Have you read any good books? If
so send me a short review and I will post it on the site!
Books to look out for ...
'Hard
Evidence: Case Studies in Forensic Anthropology,' Dawnie
Wolfe-Steadman, Prentice Hall ISBN 0130305677 $35
This text will
cover a unique selection of case studies by a well respected forensic
anthropologist from Bingham University, USA.
Online Discussion Groups
Join Forensics Discussion Forums
on the web at eGroups or OneList to discuss any forensic issue with
other prospective forensic professionals, or those working in the
field.
Email me on rmj@forensicmed.co.uk
Web Poll
Do you think that forensic
medicine is under represented in the new UK medical curriculum?
Yes
No
Don't Know
ExpressPoll
The author
Dr Richard Jones
Specialist Registrar Forensic
Pathology
Wales Institute of Forensic
Medicine
University of Wales Hospital,
Cardiff
Wales, UK
rmj@forensicmed.co.uk
The contents of this website are
for educational purposes only. The opinions expressed are the author's
own, and do not represent those of the Wales Institute of Forensic
Medicine or the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff.
The author is a trainee in
forensic pathology, and any person wishing to gain an expert opinion
for the purposes of a criminal or civil court action/ case should
approach a suitably qualified and experienced individual.
Search the web with yahoo.co.uk
...
options
© www.forensicmed.co.uk.
Richard Jones forensicmed.co.uk , all rights reserved ; this page or
any part thereof may not be duplicated without the express written
permission of the copyright owner.
This site aims to provide
educational resources for medical students in the fields of forensic
pathology, clinical forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry and forensic
science. All illustrations used are believed to be in the public
domain, and royalty free. However, if this is not the case, and you are
the copyright holder, I apologise, and will remove the relevant
illustrations if required.
Andrews L. e Nelkin D., Il
mercato del corpo, Giuffrè, Milano 2002
Aprile E., La prova penale,
Giuffrè, Milano 2002
Aprile E., Silvestri P., La
formazione della prova penale, Giuffrè, Milano 2002
Aprile E., Nuzzo F., Sanguineti
L. M., La pratica penale, Giuffrè, Milano 2003
Barni M., Consulenza
medico-legale e responsabilità medica, Giuffrè, Milano
2002
Barni M., Diritti-doveri:
responsabilità del medico, dalla bioetica al biodiritto,
Giuffrè, Milano 1999
Barni M., Il rapporto di
causalità materiale in medicina legale, Giuffrè, Milano
1995
Buccelli C. ed altri, Radiologia
Forense, Mediserve, Milano 2000
Ege H., La valutazione peritale
del danno da mobbing, Giuffrè, Milano 2002
Fineschi V., Il codice di
deontologia medica, Giuffrè, Milano 1996
Fumarola-Mauro M., Il principe
nudo, Capone, Lecce 1995
Loré C., Cesare Biondi
Medico Legale, Giuffrè, Milano 2004
Loré C. e Martini P.,
Aspetti e problemi medico-legali del transessualismo, Giuffrè,
Milano 1991
Loré C. ed altri,
L'aborto: aspetti medico-legali della nuova disciplina, Giuffrè,
Milano 1979
Lo Russo G. e Pezzano R. (a cura
di), Lexicon 2000, Simone, Napoli 2000
Marchello F. e Serafini S., La
tutela delle acque dall'inquinamento, Simone, Napoli 2001
Marchello F., Perrini M. e
Serafini S., Diritto dell'ambiente, Simone, Napoli 2002
Mazza L., Mosca C. e Pistorelli
L., La disciplina di armi, munizioni ed esplosivi, Cedam, Padova
2002
Mortara Garavelli B., Le parole e
la giustizia, Einaudi, Torino 2001
Positano G. e Positano G., La
tutela del danno alla persona, Cedam, Padova 2001
Procaccianti P. ed altri,
Medicina virtuale e problematiche medico-legali, L'EPOS, Palermo
1999
Recchia-Luciani A. e Di Lecce V.,
Medicina & Informazione, Infomedia, Ponsacco (PI) 2001
Van Caenegem R. C., I signori del
diritto, Giuffrè, Milano 1991
Venuti M. C., Gli atti di
disposizione del corpo, Giuffrè, Milano 2002
Regio Decreto Legge 20 luglio
1934, n. 1404 Decreto convertito in Legge 27 maggio 1935, n. 835
Istituzione e funzionamento del tribunale per i minorenni
Decreto del Presidente della
Repubblica 30 giugno 1965, n. 1124 Testo unico delle disposizioni per
l'assicurazione obbligatoria contro gli infortuni sul lavoro e le
malattie professionali
Legge 26 giugno 1967, n. 458
Trapianto del rene tra persone viventi
Legge 26 luglio 1975, n. 354
Norme sull'ordinamento penitenziario e sull'esecuzione delle misure
privative e limitative della libertà
Legge 22 maggio 1978, n. 194
Norme per la tutela sociale della maternità e sull'interruzione
volontaria della gravidanza
Legge 23 dicembre 1978, n. 833
Istituzione del servizio sanitario nazionale
Legge 14 aprile 1982, n.
164 Norme in materia di rettificazione di attribuzione di sesso
Legge 16 febbraio 1987, n. 81
Delega legislativa al Governo della Repubblica per l'emanazione del
nuovo Codice di Procedura Penale
Decreto Legislativo 28 luglio
1989, n. 272 Norme di attuazione, di coordinamento e transitorie del
Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 22 settembre 1988, n. 448,
recante disposizioni sul processo penale a carico di imputati
minorenni
D.P.R. 10 settembre 1990, n.
285 Approvazione del regolamento di polizia mortuaria
D.P.R. 9 ottobre 1990, n.
309 Testo unico delle leggi in materia di disciplina degli
stupefacenti e sostanze psicotrope, prevenzione, cura e riabilitazione
dei relativi stati di tossicodipendenze
Decreto Legislativo 14 gennaio
1991, n. 12 Disposizioni integrative e correttive della disciplina
processuale penale e delle norme ad essa collegate
Decreto-Legge 1 marzo 1991, n. 60
Decreto convertito in Legge 22 aprile 1991, n. 133. Interpretazione
autentica degli articoli 297 e 304 del codice di procedura penale e
modifiche di norme in tema di durata della custodia cautelare
Decreto-Legge 13 maggio 1991, n.
152 Decreto convertito in Legge 12 luglio 1991, n. 203 in Gazz. Uff.,
12 luglio 1991, n. 162 Provvedimenti urgenti in tema di lotta alla
criminalità organizzata e di trasparenza e buon andamento
dell'attività amministrativa
Legge 25 febbraio 1992, n. 210
Indennizzo a favore dei soggetti danneggiati da complicanze di tipo
irreversibile a causa di vaccinazioni obbligatorie, trasfusioni e
somministrazione di emoderivati
Decreto Legislativo 30 dicembre
1992, n. 502 Riordino della disciplina in materia sanitaria, a
norma dell'articolo 1 della Legge 23 ottobre 1992, n. 421
Legge 12 agosto 1993, n. 301
Norme in materia di prelievi ed innesti di cornea
Decreto Legislativo 7 dicembre
1993, n. 517 Modificazioni al decreto legislativo 30 dicembre
1992, n. 502
Legge 29 dicembre 1993, n.
578 Norme per l'accertamento e la certificazione di morte
Legge 8 agosto 1995, n. 335
Riforma del sistema pensionistico obbligatorio e complementare
D.P.R. 30 giugno 1965, n. 1124 e
modifiche del D.P.R. 13 aprile 1994, n. 336 Tabella delle malattie
professionali nell'industria
D.P.R. 14 gennaio 1997 n.
801 Approvazione dell'atto di indirizzo e coordinamento alle
regioni e alle province autonome di Trento e Bolzano, in materia di
requisiti strutturali, tecnologici ed organizzativi minimi per
l'esercizio delle attività sanitarie da parte delle strutture
pubbliche e private
Decreto Legislativo 24 febbraio
1997, n. 46 Attuazione della direttiva 93/42/CEE, concernente i
dispositivi medici
Legge 1 aprile 1999, n. 91
Disposizioni in materia di prelievi e di trapianti di organi e di
tessuti
Decreto legislativo 19 giugno
1999, n. 229 Norme per la razionalizzazione del Servizio
sanitario nazionale, a norma dell'art. 1 della Legge 30 novembre 1998,
n. 419
Legge 16 dicembre 1999, n.
483 Norme per consentire il trapianto parziale di fegato
Legge 3 dicembre 1999, n.
493 Norme per la tutela della salute nelle abitazioni e
istituzione dell'assicurazione contro gli infortuni domestici
Decreto Ministero Sanità 8
aprile 2000 Disposizioni in materia di prelievi e di trapianti di
organi e di tessuti attuativo delle prescrizioni relative alla
dichiarazione di volontà dei cittadini sulla donazione di organi
a scopo di trapianto
) Giovanna
Baccassino Informazione,
consenso e responsabilità professionale medica (17 luglio
2003)
2) Cosimo Giuseppe
Buccolieri Sopralluogo giudiziario ai fini della
ricerca degli elementi di prova nel processo (22 luglio 2004)
3) Giuseppe Calogiuri
Eutanasia tra storia e diritto: aspetti e problemi
medico-legali (17 luglio 2003)
4) Francesco Cannoletta
Indagine interdisciplinare su un caso di mobbing di
gruppo: l'ILVA di Taranto (22 luglio 2004)
5) Lucia Caretto
Atto medico: liceità, contenuti e limiti sub
specie medicinae legalis (17 luglio 2003)
6) Giuseppe Cipressa
Atti di disposizione del corpo e riflessioni
bioetiche e medico-legali (29 ottobre 2003)
7) Federica De Giorgi
Commercio di organi umani: il fenomeno dei bambini
scomparsi (26 ottobre 2004)
8) Simone De Riccardis
Tribunale per i crimini contro l'umanità: il
contributo antropologico forense (22 luglio 2004)
9) Maria Fontana Di Noi
Indagine in tema di balistica lesionale alla luce di
una esperienza ONU (22 luglio 2004)
10) Alessandra Galati
L'incapacità processuale dell'imputato per
infermità di mente (22 luglio 2004)
11) Graziana Giacovelli
Autopsia come mezzo di ricerca della prova nel
processo penale (26 ottobre 2004)
12) Francesca Maggio
Ruolo e responsabilità del cosiddetto medico
di base (26 ottobre 2004)
13) Emanuela Monte
La responsabilità del perito tra scienza
medica e diritto penale (26 ottobre 2004)
14) Giusi Orlandino
L’incesto nella disciplina giuridica e nella
giurisprudenza italiana (26 ottobre 2004)
15) Vincenza Pasqua
Invalidità civile: nuove realtà alla
luce della recente giurisprudenza (26 febbraio2003)
16) Antonio Marco Perrotta
Ipotesi di innovazione della valutazione delle
micropermanenti in RCA (26 febbraio2003)
17) Daniele Petracca
Utilità processuale della antropologia
forense nella identificazione personale (26 ottobre 2004)
18) Lucia Soave Pisanello
Danno biologico da morte: iure proprio e iure
hereditatis (17 luglio 2003)
19) Maria Vittoria Podo
La procreazione assistita nel divenire del dibattito
legislativo (29 ottobre 2003)
20) Claudia Ornella Polo
La perizia medico-legale in ambito di infortunistica
stradale (22 luglio 2004)
21) Federica Potì
La malattia professionale ipoacusia e sordità
da rumori (28 aprile 2003)
22) Giuseppe Vinci
Disagio minorile: il fenomeno del bullismo (26
ottobre 2004)
Non solo tesi...
1) Stefania Bene
Assistenza sanitaria agli immigrati nel Salento:
problemi di bioetica e medicina legale
2) Teresa D'Amuri
Diritto all'immagine e valutazione del danno
nell'evoluzione storica e legislativa
3) Silvia Iaconisi
La valutazione medico-legale del danno in
oftalmologia
4) Luigi Mangia
Utilità e novità in ambito di una
moderna balistica forense
5) Manuela Miggiano
L’Ospedale Psichiatrico Giudiziario sotto il profilo
della psicologia giuridica
6) Valentina Pappalardo
Rassegna dei criteri definitori e metodologie
valutative in tema di mobbing
…perché questi ragazzi
aspirano non solo a finire ma a vivere anche l’esperienza della tesi in
maniera consona ad una comunità accademica, dove
l’attività di docenti e discenti culmina in una ricerca
perseguita insieme perché l’università sia una
società di persone insieme proficuamente impegnate a far
progredire le scienze. Gli artefici delle indagini sono autori di
compact disc contenenti l’illustrazione dei progetti di ricerca, la
esposizione della documentazione raccolta (volumi e riviste
scientifiche, giornali, siti in rete, interviste e sopraluoghi, film e
documentari, trasmissioni televisive, immagini inedite), infine
l’elaborato. Una tesi di pregio rappresenta oltre che un titolo di
studio anche un biglietto da visita attraente ed utile ad un migliore
inserimento nel mondo del lavoro. Lode all’impegno di coloro che si
sono dedicati alla formazione e alla crescita di un Gruppo ormai
numeroso ed affiatato di Docenti e Discenti, meritevole di essere
Centro universitario di alto livello oltre che libera associazione di
ricercatori scientifici, che nasce nel ricordo di Simona Petracca,
studentessa deceduta mentre guidava l’auto tornando dall’Ecotekne alla
sua San Cassiano, che per prima si dedicò alla Medicina Legale
incoraggiandoci con la propria candidatura a fondare l’associazione a
Lei dedicata nell’atto costitutivo rappresentato dalla sua
lettera autografa, documento esemplare emulato dagli studenti
successivi come emerge dalla voluminosa raccolta di lettere pervenute
in questi primi sette anni di attività accademica.
Oltre la tesi...
Proprio dalla associazione ELSA
ci viene ricordato che non vi è selezione senza esclusione, ma
tra gli “inclusi” esistono Studenti di livello superiore per
qualità umane, per dedizione allo studio e agli altri, per
spirito accademico e per capacità organizzative: ebbene, queste
persone meritano non solo una citazione ma anche una condizione di
particolare attenzione e assistenza da parte dell’Università.
Nel Gruppo di Ricerca medico-legale salentina vi sono alcuni Studenti
che rappresentano l’anima ed il nerbo della piccola comunità che
si è creata intorno ad una disciplina così originale e
diversa rispetto alle consuete materie degli studi giuridici. Costoro
si dedicano già in maniera esemplare alle varie fasi della vita
dell’Ateneo, partecipando attivamente e spesso da protagonisti alla
preparazione e alla realizzazione di studi e di eventi, di ricerche e
di incontri. Per costoro gli esami e le tesi sono un momento di
verifica all’interno di un percorso culturale universitario che
proseguirà anche dopo la laurea
OBJECTIFS PEDAGOGIQUES
« MEDECINE LEGALE ET DROIT
DE LA SANTE »
DANS LE CADRE DE LA REFORME DE
LA
DEUXIEME PARTIE DU DEUXIEME CYCLE
DES
ETUDES MEDICALES
établis à LILLE le
jeudi 18 janvier 2000
Groupe de travail :
- Dr DEVEAUX, Lille
- Dr FORNES, Paris V Cochin Port
Royal,
représentant Mme le Pr.
LECOMTE
- Pr. GOSSET, Lille
- Pr. HEDOUIN, Lille
- Pr. LUDES, Strasbourg
- Pr. QUATREHOMME, Nice
- Dr ROBERT-BECART, Lille
- Dr ROUGE-MAILLART,Angers
représentant le Pr.
PENNEAU
- Dr SAPANET, Poitiers
- Dr TELMON, Toulouse
représentant le Pr. ROUGE
Organisation :
Pr. GOSSET, Lille
MODULE 1 : « APPRENTISSAGE
DE L’EXERCICE MEDICAL »
Item 1 : La relation
malade-médecin. L’annonce d’une maladie grave. La formation du
patient atteint d’une maladie grave. La personnalisation de la prise en
charge médicale.
OBJECTIFS :
*
*
Connaître le contrat médical (rang A)
*
Connaître le contenu et les limites de l’information à
donner au patient (rang A)
(cf items 6 et 141)
* Savoir ce
qu’est le consentement éclairé (rang A)
(cf item 6 et 141)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir en cas de refus de soins de
la part du patient en situation d’urgence et hors situation d’urgence
(rang A)
(cf item 6)
*
Connaître la notion de vérité au malade (rang A)
(cf item 6 et 141)
Item 2 : La méthodologie
de la recherche clinique et des essais thérapeutiques
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les principales dispositions de la loi du 20
décembre 1988 relative à la protection des personnes qui
se prêtent à des recherches biomédicales (rang A)
*
Connaître les modalités du consentement obtenu
préalablement à la réalisation d’une recherche
biomédicale (rang C)
* Savoir ce
qu’est un Comité Consultatif de Protection des Personnes dans la
Recherche Biomédicale (rang B)
*
Connaître les enjeux éthiques de la recherche
biomédicale (rang B)
* La
responsabilité du médecin investigateur (rang B)
Item 3 : Le raisonnement et la
décision en médecine. La médecine fondée
sur des preuves. L’aléa thérapeutique.
OBJECTIFS :
* Savoir
évaluer le rapport bénéfices / risques et
l’expliquer au patient (rang A)
(cf. item 6 et 4)
* Savoir ce
qu’est un aléa thérapeutique (rang B)
(cf. item 10)
*
Connaître les projets d’indemnisation d’un aléa
thérapeutique (rang C)
Item 6 : Le dossier
médical. L’information du malade. Le secret médical.
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les notions suivantes relatives au dossier
médical : constitution, tenue, supports, accès,
protection (réseaux, télémédecine…) (rang A)
*
Connaître le contenu et les limites de l’information à
donner au patient (rang A)
(cf item1 et 141)
* Savoir ce
qu’est le consentement éclairé (rang A)
(cf item1 et 141)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir en cas de refus de soins de
la part du patient en situation d’urgence et hors situation d’urgence
(rang A)
(cf item1)
*
Connaître la notion de vérité au malade (rang A)
(cf item1 et 141)
*
Connaître les textes juridiques et déontologiques relatifs
au secret professionnel (rang B)
*
Connaître les raisons d’être du secret médical (rang
A)
* Secret
professionnel et médical (rang A)
*
Connaître les dérogations légales et
jurisprudentielles à la règle du secret médical
(rang A)
* Savoir
envers qui nous sommes tenus au secret médical (rang A)
* Peut-on
partager le secret ? Les relations des médecins soignants avec :
o médecin-conseil de sécurité sociale,
o médecin conseil de compagnie d’assurance, (questionnaire
médical à la souscription d’un contrat, état
antérieur, décès de l’assuré)
o médecin du travail,
o médecin du sport,
o médecin scolaire (rang B)
Item 7 : Ethique et
déontologie médicales ; droits du malade :
problèmes liés au diagnostic, au respect de la personne
et à la mort.
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les principes déontologiques et leur description
dans le code de déontologie médicale (rang A)
* Les
comités d’éthique (rang B)
*
Connaître les aspects éthiques et juridiques de
l’accompagnement de fin de vie (rang A) (cf item 69)
*
Connaître les dispositions des lois dites de bioéthique en
matière de protection de la personne, d’empreintes
génétiques, de procréation médicalement
assistée, de prélèvements (rang A)
*
L’éthique par rapport à la déontologie (rang B)
Item 8 : Les certificats
médicaux. Décès et législation.
Prélèvements d’organes et législation.
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les principes généraux de
rédaction d’un certificat médical (rang A)
*
Connaître les lésions élémentaires
médico-légales en matière de coups et blessures
(rang A)
* Savoir
rédiger un certificat de coups et blessures (rang A)
*
Connaître les difficultés liées à la
certification des violences intra-familiales (rang A)
*
Connaître les notions d’incapacité totale de travail,
d’incapacité temporaire totale, d’arrêt de travail (rang A)
* Savoir
comment examiner un adulte victime de violences sexuelles (rang A) (cf
item 37 et 183)
* Savoir
comment examiner un enfant victime de maltraitance ou de violences
sexuelles (rang A) (cf item 37 et 183)
* Savoir
rédiger un certificat en matière de violences sexuelles
(rang A) (cf item 37 et 183)
* Savoir
à qui il est possible de remettre un certificat médical
(rang A)
* Savoir ce
qu’est une réquisition, qui peut requérir, comment y
répondre, les conséquences juridiques (rang A)
* Savoir
rédiger un certificat en vue de la pratique d’un sport (rang B)
* Savoir
constater un décès (rang A)
* Savoir
examiner un cadavre (rang B)
*
Connaître les circonstances et critères de diagnostic
d’une mort cérébrale (rang B)
*
Connaître les principes et l’intérêt d’une
levée de corps (rang B)
*
Connaître les principes de l’identification d’un cadavre (rang
B)
*
Connaître les différentes catégories d’autopsies
(rang B)
*
Connaître les signes d’une asphyxie, d’une pendaison, d’une
strangulation, d’une noyade, d’une plaie par arme à feu, d’une
plaie par arme blanche… (rang B)
*
Connaître les définitions suivantes : mort suspecte, mort
subite, mort naturelle (rang B)
* Savoir
rédiger un certificat de décès, en connaître
l’intérêt (rang A)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir devant un
décès par suicide (rang A) (cf item 189)
*
Connaître les aspects éthiques du
prélèvement d’organes (rang B) (cf item 127)
* Le
consentement et le refus de prélèvement d’organes pour un
donneur vivant (rang A) (cf item 127)
* Le
consentement et le refus de prélèvement d’organes pour un
donneur mort (rang A) (cf item 127)·
* Le registre
automatisé des refus (rang B) (cf item 127)
* La
sécurité sanitaire en matière de
prélèvement d’organes (rang C) (cf item 127)
*
Connaître les notions suivantes en matière de
législation thanatologique : délais et conditions de
transport de corps, soins de conservation, don du corps, inhumation et
crémation, prothèses radioactives (rang B)
Item 9 : Hospitalisation à
la demande d’un tiers et hospitalisation d’office
OBJECTIFS :
* Savoir
rédiger un certificat de demande de sauvegarde de justice (rang
A)
* Savoir
rédiger un certificat d’hospitalisation à la demande d’un
tiers (rang A)
*
Connaître les différences entre hospitalisation à
la demande d’un tiers et hospitalisation d’office (rang A)
Item 10 : Responsabilité
médicale pénale, civile, administrative et disciplinaire
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les principales juridictions civiles, pénales et
administratives (rang B)
*
Connaître les principes de la procédure civile (rang B)
*
Connaître les principes de la procédure pénale
(rang B)
*
Connaître la hiérarchie des textes juridiques (rang B)
*
Connaître le rôle des magistrats (rang B)
* Savoir ce
qu’est un expert (rang B)
*
Connaître l’organisation de l’Ordre des médecins (rang A)
*
Connaître le rôle des différentes instances
ordinales (rang A)
*
Connaître la procédure devant les juridictions ordinales
(rang A)
*
Connaître les sanctions ordinales (rang A)
*
Connaître la section des assurances sociales (rang A)
*
Connaître les principes de la responsabilité civile (rang
A)
*
Connaître les notions d’obligation de moyens et de
résultat (rang A)
*
Connaître les infractions pénales (rang A)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir face à un appel
urgent (rang A)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir devant un refus de soins
(rang A)
*
Connaître le délit de non assistance à personne en
danger (rang A)
*
Connaître les principes de la responsabilité
administrative hospitalière (rang B)
*
Connaître les notions de responsabilité avec
présomption de faute, responsabilité sans faute,
d’aléa thérapeutique (rang B) (cf item3)
*
Connaître les conditions réglementaires de l’exercice de
la médecine en France (rang A)
* Savoir ce
qu’est l’exercice illégal de la médecine (rang A)
* Savoir ce
qu’est la violation du secret professionnel (rang A)
(cf item 6)
*
Connaître les principes de l ‘assurance en responsabilité
civile professionnelle (rang A)
Item 13 : Organisation des
systèmes de soins. Filières et réseaux.
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître l’organisation de la Sécurité Sociale
(rang A)
*
Connaître le rôle du médecin conseil de
Sécurité Sociale (rang B)
Item 14 : Protection sociale.
Consommation médicale et économie de la santé.
OBJECTIFS :
* Savoir en
quoi consiste le libre choix d’un médecin (rang B)
*
Connaître les prestations de l’assurance maladie (rang A)
*
Connaître les prestations en nature (rang A)
*
Connaître les tarifs et les bases de remboursement (rang A)
*
Connaître les prestations de l’assurance vieillesse (rang B)
*
Connaître les aides à domicile
(aide-ménagère, garde à domicile) (rang C)
*
Connaître les prestations pour enfant à charge (rang B)
*
Connaître les prestations de l’assurance maternité (rang A)
* Savoir ce
qu’est une invalidité (rang A)
* Savoir ce
qu’est un accident du travail (en liaison avec la médecine du
travail) (rang A) (cf item 109)
*
Connaître les formalités de déclaration d’un
accident du travail (rang A) (cf item 109)
* Savoir ce
qu’est une maladie professionnelle (rang A) (cf item 109)
* Savoir ce
qu’est la Couverture Maladie Universelle (cf item 46) (rang A)
*
Connaître l’assurance –décès (rang B)
MODULE 2 : « DE LA
CONCEPTION A LA NAISSANCE »
Item 15 : Examen
prénuptial.
OBJECTIFS :
* Savoir
remplir un certificat prénuptial (rang B)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir en cas de découverte
d’une maladie génétiquement ou sexuellement transmissible
en particulier sérologie VIH positive chez un candidat au
mariage (rang B) (cf item 6)
Item 27 : Contraception
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les modalités réglementaires de la
prescription et de la délivrance d’une contraception (rang A)
Item 28: Interruption volontaire
de grossesse
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les aspects éthiques des interruptions
volontaires de grossesse (pour situation de détresse ou motif
thérapeutique)
(rang B)
*
Connaître la législation des interruptions volontaires de
grossesse (pour situation de détresse ou motif
thérapeutique) (rang A)
Item 30 : Assistance
médicale à la procréation : principaux aspects
biologiques, médicaux et éthiques.
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les données des lois de bioéthique en
matière de procréation médicalement
assistée (rang B)
*
Connaître les finalités de l’assistance médicale
à la procréation (rang B)
*
Connaître les conditions de l’assistance médicale à
la procréation (rang B)
*
Connaître les conditions des études sur embryon humain
(rang B)
Item 31 : Problèmes
posés par les maladies génétiques à propos :
* d’une
maladie chromosomique : la trisomie 21
* d’une
maladie génique : la mucoviscidose
* d’une
maladie d’instabilité : le syndrome de l’X fragile
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les problèmes éthiques posés par
le dépistage des maladies génétiques (rang B)
*
Connaître les aspects réglementaires du dépistage
de la trisomie 21 (rang A)
MODULE 3 : « MATURATION ET
VULNERABILITE »
Item 37 : Maltraitance et enfance
en danger. Protection maternelle et infantile.
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître les infractions pénales en matière
d’enfance maltraitée (rang B)
*
Connaître les définitions de l’enfant en danger, l’enfant
maltraité, l’enfant à risque (rang C)
*
Connaître l’épidémiologie de la maltraitance
à enfant (rang C)
*
Connaître les facteurs de risque de la maltraitance envers les
enfants (rang A)
*
Connaître les manifestations cliniques et paracliniques des
sévices d’action (rang A)
*
Connaître le syndrome de Münchausen par procuration (rang C)
*
Connaître le syndrome de l’enfant secoué (rang A)
*
Connaître les manifestations psychiques de l’enfant
maltraité (rang A)
*
Connaître la technique d’examen de l’enfant victime de violences
physiques, psychiques et sexuelles (rang B) (cf item 183)
*
Connaître les gestes ou attitudes à éviter chez un
enfant victime de violences physiques , psychiques et sexuelles (rang
A)
*
Connaître les constatations et l’interprétation des
lésions de l’enfant victime de violences sexuelles (rang B) (cf
item 183)
*
Connaître les modalités de prise en charge de l’enfant
victime (rang A)
*
Connaître la procédure de signalement judiciaire (rang A)
*
Connaître la procédure de signalement administratif (rang
A)
*
Connaître les limites de la notion de secret professionnel en
matière de maltraitance à enfant (cf item 6) (rang A)
Item 40 : Sexualité
normale et ses troubles.
OBJECTIFS :
* ·
Connaître les principales dispositions de la loi sur la
délinquance sexuelle (17.06.98) (rang B)
Item 45 : Addictions et conduites
dopantes : épidémiologie, prévention,
dépistage. Morbidité, comorbidité et
complications. Prise en charge, traitement substitutif et sevrage
:
* alcool
* tabac
* psychoactifs
et substances illicites
OBJECTIFS :
*
Connaître le métabolisme de l’alcool (rang A) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les signes cliniques de l’intoxication alcoolique
aiguë (rang A) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les méthodes de confirmation d’une intoxication
alcoolique aiguë (rang B) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les problèmes posés par l’alcool, les
médicaments et les stupéfiants au volant (rang A) (cf
item 214)
* Le
certificat de non hospitalisation, l’ivresse publique manifeste (rang
A)
*
Connaître les principales classes de stupéfiants et savoir
reconnaître les substances en nature (rang C) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les signes cliniques et toxicologiques d’une
intoxication au cannabis (rang A) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les signes cliniques, biologiques et toxicologiques
d’une intoxication à l’héroïne et aux morphiniques
(rang A) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les signes cliniques, biologiques et toxicologiques
d’une intoxication à la cocaïne (rang A) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les signes cliniques, biologiques et toxicologiques
d’une intoxication aux amphétamines (rang A) (cf item 214)
*
Connaître les complications somatiques des toxicomanies (rang A)
*
Connaître la conduite à tenir devant un sujet
supposé être transporteur de drogue in corpore (rang B)
(cf item 214)
* Savoir
prescrire un traitement par les substances de la classe des
stupéfiants (rang A) (cf item167)
*
Connaître les principaux traitements de substitution et leurs
accidents (rang A)
*
Connaître les principales substances utilisées en
matière de dopage (rang A) (cf item 111)
*
Connaître les effets secondaires des produits dopants et les
accidents du dopage (rang A) (cf item 111)
* Savoir
comment confirmer biologiquement l’usage d’une substance dopante (rang
C) (cf item 111)
* Ivresse et
garde à vue, sevrage et garde à vue (rang A)
Item 46 : Sujets en situation de
précarité : facteurs de risque et évaluation.
Mesures de protection sociale. Morbidité et comorbidité :
diagnostic, complications et traitement.
OBJECTIFS :
* Savoir
reconnaître les situations de précarité (rang A)
*
Connaître l’épidémiologie de la
précarité en France (rang B)
* Savoir ce
qu’est la Couverture Maladie Universelle (rang A)(cf item 14)
*
Connaître la situation sanitaire des sujets détenus (rang
B)
*
Connaître les modalités de la prise en charge
médicale en milieu carcéral (rang B)
MODULE 4 : «
HANDICAP-INCAPACITE-DEPENDANCE »
Item 49 : Evaluation clinique et
fonctionnelle d’un handicap moteur, cognitif ou sensoriel
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
principes de la réparation juridique du dommage corporel (rang
A)
· Connaître les
notions d’incapacité temporaire, d’incapacité permanente,
de guérison, de consolidation (rang A)
· Savoir comment
évaluer une incapacité permanente dans les
différents systèmes de réparation (droit commun,
accident du travail, pension militaire, assurance individuelle) (rang
B)
· Savoir évaluer
les préjudices accessoires (rang B) (cf item 65)
· Savoir ce qu’est une
tierce dans les différentes législations (rang B)
Item 52 : Le handicap mental.
Tutelle, curatelle, sauvegarde de justice
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
notions de tutelle, curatelle, sauvegarde de justice (rang A)
· Savoir comment demander
une mise sous sauvegarde de justice (rang A)
MODULE 5 : « VIEILLISSEMENT
»
Item 64 : Autonomie et
dépendance chez le sujet âgé
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
facteurs à l’origine de la maltraitance d’une personne
âgée ou vulnérable (rang A)
· Connaître les
différents types de maltraitance d’une personne
âgée (rang A)
· Connaître la
conduite à tenir en présence d’une personne
âgée paraissant maltraitée (rang A)
MODULE 6 : « DOULEUR-SOINS
PALLIATIFS-ACCOMPAGNEMENT »
Item 65 : Bases
neuro-physiologiques et évaluation d’une douleur aiguë et
d’une douleur chronique
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître
l’évaluation d’un quantum doloris en réparation du
dommage corporel (rang B)
(cf item 49)
Item 66 : Thérapeutiques
antalgiques, médicamenteuses et non médicamenteuses
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître et
savoir appliquer la réglementation sur la prescription et la
délivrance des médicaments stupéfiants (rang A)
Item 69 : Soins palliatifs
pluridisciplinaires chez un malade en fin de vie . Accompagnement d’un
mourant et de son entourage
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
aspects éthiques et juridiques de l’accompagnement de fin de vie
(rang A) (cf item 7)
MODULE 7: « SANTE ET
ENVIRONNEMENT – MALADIES TRANSMISSIBLES »
Item 91 : Infections
nosocomiales.
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
problèmes de responsabilité posés par les
infections nosocomiales (rang C)
Item 109 : Accidents du travail
et maladies professionnelles : définitions. (en liaison avec la
médecine du travail)
OBJECTIFS :
· Savoir ce qu’est un
accident du travail (rang A) (cf item 14)
· Connaître les
formalités de déclaration d’un accident du travail (rang
A) (cf item 14)
· Savoir ce qu’est une
maladie professionnelle (rang A) (cf item 14)
· Savoir ce qu’est le
comité de reconnaissance des maladies professionnelles (rang B)
Item 111 : Sports et
santé. Aptitude aux sports chez l’enfant et chez l’adulte.
Besoins nutritionnels chez le sportif.
· Connaître les
principales substances utilisées en matière de dopage
chez le sportif (rang A) (cf item 45)
· Connaître les
effets secondaires des produits dopants et les accidents du dopage
(rang A) (cf item 45)
· Savoir comment
diagnostiquer biologiquement et toxicologiquement l’usage d’une
substance dopante (rang C) (cf item 45)
MODULE 8 : «
IMMUNOPATHOLOGIE - REACTION INFLAMMATOIRE »
Item 127 : Transplantations
d’organes : aspects épidémiologiques et immunologiques;
principes de traitement et surveillance ; complications et pronostic ;
aspects éthiques et légaux.
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
aspects éthiques du prélèvement d’organes (rang B)
(cf item 8)
· Le consentement et le
refus de prélèvement d’organes pour un donneur vivant
(rang A) (cf item 8)
· Le consentement et le
refus de prélèvement d’organes pour un donneur mort (rang
A) (cf item 8)
· Le registre
automatisé des refus (rang B) (cf item 8)
· La
sécurité sanitaire en matière de
prélèvement d’organes (rang C) (cf item 8)
MODULE 10 : « CANCEROLOGIE
- ONCOHEMATOLOGIE »
Item 142 : Prise en charge et
accompagnement d’un malade cancéreux à tous les stades de
la maladie. Traitements symptomatiques. Modalités de
surveillance. Problèmes psychologiques, éthiques et
sociaux.
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
problèmes éthiques posés par la maladie
cancéreuse, l’acharnement thérapeutique (rang B)
· Connaître les
problèmes médico-sociaux posés par la maladie
cancéreuse : notions d’affections de longue durée,
d’exonération du ticket modérateur et ALD30 (rang B)
MODULE 11 : « SYNTHESE
CLINIQUE ET THERAPEUTIQUE. DE LA PLAINTE DU PATIENT A LA DECISION
MEDICALE – URGENCES »
Item 167 : Thérapeutiques
médicamenteuses et non médicamenteuses. Cadre
réglementaire de la prescription et recommandations.
OBJECTIFS :
· Savoir rédiger
une ordonnance (rang A)
· Connaître les
règles de prescription des substances des listes I, II, de
stupéfiants (rang A)
(cf item 45)
· Connaître les
modalités de délivrance des médicaments (rang A)
· Savoir ce qu’est une
référence médicale (rang A) (cf item 4)
· Connaître les
dispositions du système conventionnel (rang A)
Item 170 : La décision
thérapeutique personnalisée. Observance
médicamenteuse.
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître les
conditions médicales d’obtention ou de maintien du permis de
conduire (rang B)
Item 180 : Prescription d’une
cure thermale.
OBJECTIFS :
· La demande d’entente
préalable (rang B)
Item 183 : Accueil d’un sujet
victime de violences sexuelles
OBJECTIFS :
· Savoir prendre en
charge, examiner, orienter une femme adulte victime de violences
sexuelles (rang A) (cf item 8)
· Savoir prendre en
charge, examiner, orienter un homme adulte victime de violences
sexuelles (rang A) (cf item 8)
· Savoir prendre en
charge, examiner, orienter un enfant victime de violences sexuelles
(rang A) (cf item 8)
· Connaître la
technique d’examen de l’enfant abusé sexuellement (rang A) (cf
item 37) (cf item 8)
· Connaître les
constatations et l’interprétation des lésions de l’enfant
abusé sexuellement (rang B) (cf item 37) (cf item 8)
Item 189 : Conduite suicidaire
chez l’enfant et l’adolescent
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître la
conduite à tenir devant un décès par suicide (rang
A) (cf item 8)
Item 210 : Malaise grave du
nourrisson et mort subite
OBJECTIFS :
· Aspects
médico-légaux de la mort subite du nourrisson (rang A)
· Connaître les
diagnostics différentiels de la mort subite du nourrisson (rang
A)
Item 214 : Principales
intoxications aiguës
OBJECTIFS :
· Connaître le
métabolisme de l’alcool (rang A) (cf item 214)
· Connaître les
signes cliniques de l’intoxication alcoolique aiguë (rang A) (cf
item 214)
· Connaître les
méthodes de confirmation d’une intoxication alcoolique
aiguë (rang B) (cf item 214)
· Connaître les
problèmes posés par l’alcool, les médicaments et
les stupéfiants au volant (rang A) (cf item 214)
· Le certificat de non
hospitalisation, l’ivresse publique manifeste (rang A)
· Connaître les
principales classes de stupéfiants et savoir reconnaître
les substances en nature (rang C) (cf item 214)
· Connaître les
signes cliniques et toxicologiques d’une intoxication au cannabis (rang
A) (cf item 214)
· Connaître les
signes cliniques, biologiques et toxicologiques d’une intoxication
à l’héroïne et aux morphiniques (rang A) (cf item
214)
· Connaître les
signes cliniques, biologiques et toxicologiques d’une intoxication
à la cocaïne (rang A) (cf item 214)
· Connaître les
signes cliniques, biologiques et toxicologiques d’une intoxication aux
amphétamines (rang A) (cf item 214)
· Connaître les
complications somatiques des toxicomanies (rang A)
· Connaître la
conduite à tenir devant un sujet supposé être
transporteur de drogue in corpore (rang B) (cf item 214)
· Savoir prescrire un
traitement par les substances de la classe des stupéfiants (rang
A) (cf item167)
· Connaître les
principaux traitements de substitution et leurs accidents (rang
A)
· Connaître les
principales substances utilisées en matière de dopage
(rang A) (cf item 111)
· Connaître les
effets secondaires des produits dopants et les accidents du dopage
(rang A) (cf item 111)
· Savoir comment confirmer
biologiquement l’usage d’une substance dopante (rang C) (cf item
111)
· Ivresse et garde
à vue, sevrage et garde à vue (rang A
Anatomopathologie médico-légale
Anthropologie
et radiologie médico-légale
Criminologie
et psychiatrie médico-légale
Droit
médical et éthique
Entomologie
médico-légale
Médecine en milieu pénitentiaire
Médecine légale clinique
Médecine sociale
Odontologie
médico-légale et identification
Réparation du préjudice corporel
Thanatologie
Toxicologie
médico-légale
Forensic Careers Page
SO YOU ARE A BRIGHT AND PROMISING
YOUNGSTER AND WANT TO TAKE UP FORENSIC SCIENCE OR FORENSIC MEDICINE AS
A CAREER.... YOU HAVE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!
Hi, I am Anil Aggrawal. I
have spent a life time as a forensic pathologist. During this period I
have come to regard this specialty as one of the most interesting and
rewarding careers. Daily I get a number of phone calls from youngsters
wanting to know how they can join forensic sciences. Although I love
talking to all of them, I thought I should better put all the
information I have on a page which all can access. If you talk to me
after reading this page, we can discuss your career lot more
meaningfully. In case you need to discuss, do call me up.
Before we begin, I have a
gentle request. I have listed many Universities and colleges here, but
I don't necessarily know the details of admission procedures. Rules and
regulations, admission criteria and other details keep changing from
year to year, and I can't possibly keep track of all the info. You have
got to contact the respective Colleges/Universities to get that
information. If you want to share this information (or any other
forensic career related information for that matter) with all of us,
you may want to contact me by Email/phone/snail mail, and send that
information to me. I will put that information on this page, with due
credit to you. Let this page be a common pool of collective wisdom,
where we all contribute and from where we all benefit. Now to the real
thing!
I love talking to young
intelligent students on matters of forensic science, and especially on
careers related to forensic science. One of my most memorable
experiences was when I talked on "Forensic Engineering" to a group of
highly intelligent students at IIT, Bombay in February 2002. The
students were fantastic; I thoroughly enjoyed being with them and
talking to them on this confluence of the two specialties. The students
appeared to enjoy my slides and animations too. I heard some of them
seriously wanted to become forensic engineers after that!
I have talked to many
students (over phone mostly) who have a great love for forensics, and
would love to pursue a course in it. But they are hesitant to join it.
Why? Because they have heard from someone that the scope for Forensics
is limited in our country. This is simply not true. My answer to this
is simple - Your scope for ANY job is limited if you are mediocre in
your specialty. And that includes Forensics. If you excel in your
subject, there is no reason, why you can not make a name for you and
your country.
A number of bright
youngsters are today looking for unexplored areas where they can
achieve success quickly and rise to big positions in a relatively short
span of time. If you are a youngster with this view, this page is for
you.
Great Opportunities in
forensics!
Lady Luck is beckoning you! Don't
miss this great opportunity. Bookmark this page by pressing Ctrl+D, and
visit it often, as new and latest information regarding job
opportunities in forensic science and medicine will be posted here on a
regular basis.
For Indian Students: If you are a
student from India, you could join forensic science in a number of
ways. Many universities in India offer M.Sc. Courses in Forensic
Sciences. Main among these are:
1. Punjabi
University, Patiala, India
Website:www.universitypunjabi.org/
Punjabi University, Patiala, India offers a two year course of M.Sc. in
Forensic Science. There are ten seats per batch. To be eligible you
must have either of the following: (i)B.Sc. (Medical/Non-Medical) (ii)
BDS (iii) MBBS. The university offers specialization in forensic
biology, forensic serology, forensic chemistry and forensic toxicology.
For more information, please contact, Dr. O.P. Jasuja. Full information
about him is as follows:
Dr. O.P. Jasuja,
Reader in Forensic Science
Punjabi University, Patiala-147 002
India
Tel (R) 91-175-2285505
Tel (O) 91-175-2282461-65 EXT. 6342
Fax (O) 91-175-2282882 AND 2283073
You can also E-mail him by clicking over his name.
For more information on Dr. Jasuja please
visit:http://www.geradts.com/anil/ij/vol_001_no_001/editors.html
For more information on Forensic Science Department at Patiala, please
visit:http://www.universitypunjabi.org/pages/teaching/teaching15.html
2. Department of
Criminology and Forensic Science,
Dr. Hari Singh Gaur Vishwavidyalaya,
Sagar, Sagar University,
Madhya Pradesh,
PIN-470 003 India
The department offers two Masters Degree courses. These are M.A.
(Master of Arts) in Criminology, and M.Sc. (Master of Science) in
Forensic Science and Forensic Toxicology. Each course has 12 seats. The
selection is on merit basis. Admissions start in June every year (or
sometimes in July). These courses are also taught at Graduate level
(Both B.A. and B.Sc. Level). The department has a well-equipped
laboratory for conducting experiments
Another course offered by this University is a six-month Diploma course
in Criminology and Forensic Science. But this diploma is meant only for
the Police officials of the Madhya Pradesh State. Please contact the
University to check if you can be admitted to this course as a special
case.
Research Programmes in Criminology and Forensic Science are also
conducted.
3. University of
Madras,
Chennai 600005,
India
This University offers an MA in Criminology. Eligibility is a valid
Bachelor’s degree.
4. Banaras Hindu
University,
Varanasi 221005 (UP),
India
This University offers an MA in Criminology. Eligibility is a valid
Bachelor’s degree. You may want to visit the University's website by
clicking here.
5. Forensic House,
35A Kamarajan Salai,
Mylapore,
Chennai 600004
India
This institute offers a course in Criminology and Forensic Science.
Eligibility is a valid Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Chemistry or
Applied Science. MBBS, BDS, and B.Pharm. students are also
accepted.
6. Department of
Criminology and Forensic Science,
Karnataka University,
Dharwar 580003,
Karnataka
India
Karnataka University offers M.A. (Masters in Arts) in Criminology and
M.Sc. in Forensic Science and Forensic Toxicology. To be eligibile, you
have to have a BA, B.Sc. or B.Com. degree with a minimum of 50%
aggregate. The admission is through an entrance test.
7. Department of
Forensic Science,
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University,
Agra, U.P.
India
This University offers an M.Sc. in Forensic Science.
8. Tata Institute of
Social Sciences,
Post Box No. 8313,
Sion-Trombay Road Deonar,
Mumbai 400088
India
This institute offers Criminology as a specialization course with
Masters in Social Work programme.
9. Department of
Anthropology,
University of Delhi,
Delhi
India
Offers a certificate course in Forensic Science
10. National Institute of
Criminology and Forensic Science,
Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India,
Sector III, Institutional Area,
Outer Ring Road,
Rohini, Delhi-110085
India
Tel: 011-7277095/7277689
This institute is a premier body conducting traning and research in the
field of Forensic Science. It offers research programmes and diplomas
in Forensic Science. Officials who can attend these programs are police
officers, forensic scientists, judges, research scholars, and senior
officials from various forensic laboratories.
11. Department of
Anthropology,
University of Pune,
Pune-411 007,
Maharashtra, India.
Tel. No.: 020-5696061 Extn.:2182
This University started a Masters course as well as a P.G. Diploma
course in Forensic Sciences in 2003. This information was provided to
me on 23 June 2003 by a student Bindu Chacko.
12. Programming for
Forensic Professionals
Are you an accomplished programmer? Or do you want to take up
programming as a career? Well, why not make programs for forensic
professionals. There is much in it for you. Forensic Professionals need
expert programmers like you. Why, you may ask? Well, at the end of a
year, most of them want to know, how many autopies they did on, say,
drowned individuals, how many of them were between, say, 15 and 20
years of age, how many of them drowned in, say, fresh water and how
many in sea water, and so on. To get all this data in a jiffy, you need
to write a good program.
Or
do you want to take up forensic programming as a career? If you do,
please take time out to visit this forensic programming page.
13.
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice,
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,
Abhishekapatti, Tirunelveli, 627 012 Tamil Nadu
This department offers MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice Science,
which is a two year master's degree programme.
Eligibility: Any bachelor's degree
Contact email: cjf_india@yahoo.com
This information was provided to me on 14 April 2004 by Dr.Jaishankar
Karuppannan, who is affiliated with this University. The good doctor
continues:
We
also offer PhD programmes. You can visit our dept website at
http://www.doccj.co.nr
Apart from the regular programme we also have distance education
programme in criminology. This is a unique programme offered for the
first time in the whole of the country. The details are as
follows:
M.A. in Criminology and Police Science
This course is offered by the Directorate of Distance and Continuing
Education, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,
Abhishekapatti,Tirunelveli, 627 012 Tamil Nadu
E.Mail: distance@sancharnet.in
A
college affiliated under this university offers BSc in Police Science
and Criminology.
For full details all the programmes Please contact
Dr.K. Jaishankar
Faculty
Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University
Abhishekappatti, Tirunelveli 627 012
Tamil Nadu INDIA
Email: cjf_india@yahoo.com
The department also brings out a monthly newsletter
One can download these issues from the following links
Crime and Justice Perspective January issue
Crime and Justice Perspective February issue
Crime and Justice Perspective March issue
Right-click the above links and then select "Save target as..."
The good doctor further advises readers to visit them at
http://www.doccj.co.nr
and http://www.angelfire.com/indie/doccj
Can I do B.Sc. in Forensic
Science? Two institutes in India offer B.Sc. in Forensic Science.
These are:
1. Manipur
University, Canchipur, Imphal
2. Amity Institute,
NOIDA (Private)
To know about Amity, please visit
www.amity.edu, or phone 1600-11-00-00 (Toll Free) or 011-24331000.
Amity has campuses in Delhi, NOIDA, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Lucknow,
Bhubaneswar and Raipur.
Amity Institute offers the
following four courses in Forensic Science.
1. B.Sc. (Hons.)
Forensic Sciences (3 years)
2. M.Sc. Forensic
Sciences (2 years)
3. PG Diploma in
Forensic Science (1 year)
4. PG Diploma in
Cyber Crime & Cyber Law (1 year)
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Can I do an M.Sc. in
Forensic Science? Yes, of course. Amity Institute as mentioned above is
one institute which offers a course in M.Sc. Forensic Science. In
general, to be eligible for an M.Sc. Course in Forensic Sciences in any
of the above universities, you should have a bachelor's degree,
preferably with a first division in physics, chemistry, zoology, or
botany. You can find out about the details of admission to this course
from your local state university. Once you have done the M.Sc.
successfully you can even go for a Ph.D. in Forensic Sciences.
In your M.Sc. Course you can
choose a field of specialization such as forensic ballistics, forensic
entomology, forensic botany and so on.
How can I become a Forensic
Pathologist? To become a forensic pathologist (the specialist who
conducts post-mortems on dead human bodies to find out the cause of
death, the time and manner of death and so on), you must first do an
MBBS degree and then go for an MD degree in Forensic Medicine. Almost
all Indian Universities which offer M.B.B.S courses, also offer an M.D.
in Forensic Medicine.
I want to become a
Fingerprint expert. What should I do? Do an M.Sc. in Forensic Science
as advised above.
I want to be a private
Sherlock Holmes. What should I do? Investigation of crime is not
allowed on a private basis in our country. It is done only by the
police, and they take the help of Govt. agencies such as forensic
science laboratories etc. If you want to become a private detective,
you will have to restrict yourself to civil cases such as marriage and
divorce etc. For more information, ring me up.
I don't want to join a
formal course. Will reading of Sherlock Holmes stories help me? To a
certain extent, YES. They will certainly help you to think logically.
But they CAN NOT make you a detective all on their own. For that you
MUST join a formal forensic science course. You may be surprised,
Sherlock Holmes stories were at one time included as a course for the
London Metropolitan Police force. If you want to read these stories,
don't just pick up any book. Read ONLY "The Annotated Sherlock Holmes -
The Four Novels and Fifty-six short stories complete". This book is
lavishly illustrated with maps, diagrams, photographs and drawings, and
gives all 60 works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This book is edited by
William S. Baring-Gould, with an introduction, notes and bibliography,
and is easily the best book available on Sherlock Holmes today. This
book is out of print now, but a used copy can be bought from
amazon.com. I own a 1992 edition published by Wings Books, and I still
read it occasionally. I am giving the cover of the book here.
Click cover to buy from Amazon at
a discount through this site
There is a lot of other
literature on Sherlock Holmes too (including videos and CDs). Please
click on the cover of the book to explore that. The link will take you
to a page from my Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.
Go to "Sherlockiana" section, and click on the book you want to read
about.
There is another little
known book which can help you. This is written by Satyabrata Dam. It is
called "Eyewitness". To read more about this book, please click
here.
So what are the rewards of
joining Forensic Sciences? The first and foremost is that it is a
challenging field, which fills you with lot of job satisfaction. The
field is relatively unknown at present. Not many youngsters are aware
of this discipline, so job positions are relatively easy to get, and
you get a raise in hierarchical position very quickly. Above all, you
can have the satisfaction of playing the real Sherlock Holmes!
I am a Commerce graduate.
Certainly there should be no scope for me in Forensic science. Or is
there some hope? The answer is a surprising "Yes". Many youngsters have
written to ask me that they are commerce graduates and is it possible
for them to join forensic science in some way. The beauty of forensic
science is that almost anybody with knowledge in almost any field can
become a forensic scientist. Even a locksmith can examine locks for
forensic purposes! Commerce graduates can easily take up forensic
accounting as a career. It is not possible for me to give in any detail
about this specialty, but you would do well reading the following
book:
Financial Investigation and
Forensic Accounting by George A. Manning, C.F.E., E.A. (CRC Press,
2000). This book costs $69.95 and can be bought through Amazon or
directly through CRC Press. Its site is at
http://www.crcpress.com/
Recently I have been
contacted by Vijay Narayan Govind, a chartered Accountant with active
interest in forensic accounting and auditing. You may want to contact
him by clicking here.
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I am an entomologist. What
are my chances? Some bright youngsters with a Ph.D. Degree in
entomology wrote to me asking how they could join forensic sciences.
They could pursue a course in Forensic Entomology and become very
successful Forensic Entomologists. These are the specialists who can
help the law by their specialized knowledge of insects. For instance,
if a corpse is infested with maggots, they can study them and can tell
the time of death of that person. The cause of death could also be
inferred in some cases, especially if the person was poisoned. If that
were the case, maggots would ingest some of it along with the flesh. If
the person was completely reduced to bones, the maggots could still be
examined for the poison, because they had ingested it. If the maggots
had metamorphosed into adult flies and had flown away, even then the
poison ingested could be found out! How? Well, before turning into
adults, the maggots first pupate. For this they move out of the body.
About a few yards away from the body, they pupate and when they become
adults, the pupa shells are left behind. A careful search around the
body would enable the forensic entomologist to successfully identify
them. These pupa shells can be examined and analysed for poisons. If
the poison was present in the body in the first place, it would be
ingested by maggots, and in turn passed on to the pupa shells. Forensic
entomologists have even taken out the DNA of a dead individual from the
guts of maggots and have successfully found out about the identity of
the deceased person!
Book published by Harley (top)
and Thomas Dunne (bottom)
Click covers to buy from Amazon
at a discount through this site.
Get the idea? Needless to
say, Forensic Entomology can be great fun. But how to go about it?
Well, I am no entomologist, but what I can suggest you is that you
contact John Kunich, by clicking on his name. He is a great forensic
entomologist. I read his book ENTOMOLOGY AND THE LAW: FLIES AS FORENSIC
INDICATORS, which is excellent. You may want to buy and read this book
by clicking here, or on the cover of the book on the right. This is the
only book (that I am aware of) that thoroughly covers both the law and
the science of forensic entomology. Dr. Kunich has included a detailed
examination of the law of scientific evidence, not only within the
United States but in several other nations as well. I think this book
will be very valuable to you, in case you want to pursue a course in
Forensic Entomology.
Another very good book on
Forensic entomology that I can suggest you is Maggots, Murder and Men -
Memories and reflections of a forensic entomologist by Zakaria
Erzinçlioglu. It was first published by Harley Books in 2000
(Natural History Publishers, Martins, Great Horkesley, Colchester,
Essex CO6 4AH, UK. Phone: 01206 271216; Fax: 01206 271182; E-Mail:
harley@keme.co.uk). Its details are as follows:
256 Pages: ISBN 0-946589-65-8:
Price £13.95.
Later - in 2002 - it was also
published by Thomas Dunne Books, which is an imprint of St. Martin’s
Press, (A Member of the St. Martin's Press group, Minotaur Books, 175
5th Avenue, NY, NY 10010, Fax: 212-674-6132). You can buy the book
directly by visiting their site at:
http://www.minotaurbooks.com, or
from Amazon by clicking here. Its details are:
256 Pages: ISBN 0-312-28774-7:
Price $23.95, Can $33.95
Fortunately both Harley Books and
Thomas Dunne Books were kind enough to send me an examination copy. I
have gone through this book and have found it an extremely useful
book.
This book gives a number of
actual cases solved by the great Forensic Entomologist Zakaria
Erzinçlioglu. The cases are narrated in a chatty style. Once you
pick up the book, you can not put it down; that is for sure. I enjoyed
reading this book thoroughly, and I am sure, you would share my
experience. Clicking on the covers would take you to the amazon site,
from where you can purchase the books online.
Covers of both these books say a
lot. In the cover by Harley, you see a forensic entomologist examining
the posterior spiracles of a maggot with his pocket lens. There is a
blood stained knife in the background and a few drops of blood,
indicating murder. In the cover by Thomas Dunne, you see an old style
pocket watch with three flies over and around it. The pocket watch
represents the time of death, of which flies are a very good
indicator!
You may also want to visit the
following two sites:
http://www.geradts.com/anil/ij/vol_002_no_001/popular_books_002_001/page006.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Jul/08/bookreviews.html
Another good forensic
entomologist that you can contact for advice is Mark Benecke of
Germany.
I am a dentist by training.
What are my chances? Well, you could pursue a lucrative career in
Forensic odontology. These are the specialists who help the law by
virtue of their specialized knowledge of teeth and surrounding oral
structures. For instance if a forensic pathologist finds teeth bite
marks in, say, a case of death associated with sexual assault, he might
want to call a forensic odontologist to assist him. The odontologist
would make a dental cast from the teeth bite marks. This dental cast
could be matched with that made from several suspects. Traces of saliva
found around bite marks can assist in the identification of the
culprit. Lip prints found on various objects, such as around cups and
glasses can often help in the identification of a suspect. Some experts
think lip prints can be as unique as finger prints. Much work however
needs to be done in this nascent field known as cheiloscopy (the study
of lip prints). You could be one of its pioneers. There is a very good
journal devoted completely to the science of Forensic odontology. It is
called "The Journal of Forensic Odonto-Stomatology", and can be
accessed by clicking here. If you want to know more about forensic
odontology, you can contact my friend Bryan Chrz, who incidentally is
one of the best in the field.
I am a mathematician. Can I
join the forensic field in some way? So you are a mathematician! Good.
You might think there is no scope for you in Forensic Science - and you
would be WRONG. Mathematicians can become successful forensic
statisticians. These are the specialists who guide the courts regarding
the possibility (or statistical probability) of an accused being an
actual criminal. If the killed person had a blood group, say, "B", and
you find blood stains of the same group on the clothes of an accused,
what is the probability that he actually killed the person? If a lost
(and recovered) newborn baby has a blood group, say, "AB+", and the
alleged mother is "O-" and the alleged father "A+", what is the
probability that the child actually belonged to this couple. If a
witness saw a green car speeding away from the scene of crime in the
evening, what is the probability that he actually saw a green car, and
not a blue car, which he mistook for green (because of fading light).
Questions like this often take into account Bayes theorem. For more
information, you may want to read the following books:
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1. Statistical
Science in the Courtroom, 1st Edition, 2000, edited by Joseph K.
Gastwirth, Springer-Verlag, GmbH & Co.KG, Tiergartenstrasse 17,
D-69121 Heidelberg, Germany. xxii + 443 pages, ISBN 0-387-98997-8.
Hardcover $59.95. This book can be purchased either through amazon, or
by visiting the Springer site at http://www.springer-ny.com
2. Statistics and
the Evaluation of Evidence for Forensic Scientists, 1st Edition, 1995
(reprinted 1997), by C.G.G. Aitken, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605
Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, USA. xvi + 260 pages, ISBN
0-471-95532-9. Hardcover $110.00. This book too can either be purchased
through amazon, or by visiting the publisher's (John Wiley) site at
http://www.wiley.com
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Both these books cover the
whole gamut of forensic statistics very comprehensively. If you know
your statistics basics, you would hardly have any difficulty
understanding these books on your own. Do try these books, if you are
serious about becoming a forensic statistician. Both of them are
excellent. I have gone through them, and although I am no
mathematician, I could follow them easily.
Would you like to talk to a
forensic statistician for more knowledge? Well, try your luck
contacting the following forensic statisticians (click on their names).
All of them are great statisticians, but rather busy, so they might
take some time to reply to your queries. I contacted all of them (for a
different purpose though), and they were gracious enough to reply to my
letters. Here is the list:
1. Colin Aitken
2. David Balding
3. Joseph K.
Gastwirth
4. Jay Kadane
5. Charles R. Mann
6. Marc Rosenblum
7. Nozer Singpurwalla
8. David Pollard
9. Donald Rubin
10. Weiwen Miao
If you are interested in
knowing how mathematics can be used for forensic purposes, especially
for Forensic DNA interpretation, you may want to contact Charles
Brenner. Try his excellent site on Forensic mathematics by clicking
here.
You may also want to read
the following excellent book:
Interpreting DNA Evidence:
Statistical Genetics for Forensic Scientists, 1st Edition by Ian W.
Evett and Bruce S. Weir. Softcover, 6" x 9".
Sinauer Associates, Inc.,
Publishers, 23 Plumtree Road, P.O. Box 407, Sunderland, MA 01375-0407,
Phone: (413) 549-4300, Fax: (413) 549-1118. Publication Date 1998. xvi
+ 278 pages, ISBN 0-87893-155-4. Price $43.95
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This book can be bought
either through amazon, or you may want to visit the publisher's site at
http://www.sinauer.com/. You may also want to try out this link. The
book having 30 illustrations, provides a rational basis for
interpreting DNA evidence. Although it is based on modern theories of
statistics and population genetics, it also rests on the principles of
forensic science. While aimed at the undergraduate level, its primary
audience is forensic science and legal professionals. If you are aiming
to become a forensic statistician, go for this book. It is very highly
recommended.
Forensic DNA typing sounds
interesting to me. I have done a course in genetics, and would like to
enter this field. What should I do? You have chosen a very
promising field. Please contact following persons, who are masters in
this field.
1. K. Thangaraj
Centre for Cellular and Molecular
Biology
Uppal Road,
Hyderabad
India
Email: thangs@ccmb.res.in
2. Rajiv Giroti
Central Forensic Science
Laboratory
Chandigarh-36
India
Email: rigiroti@yahoo.com
Phone: 9417080966
3. Dr. M.S. Rao
Director-cum-Chief Forensic
Scientist
Ministry of Home Affairs
Block no. 11, 4th Floor
New Delhi-110 003
India
Email: msrnd@indiatimes.com
4. C.S. Paulose
Director, Center for
neuroscience
Department of
Biotechnology
Cochin University of Science and
Technology
Cochin-682 022, Kerala
India
Phone: (0484)2576267 [O]
(0485)2812428, 2812510 [R]
Email: biomncb@cusat.ac.in
5. Dr. Lalji Singh,
Director
CCMB, Hyderabad
India
Email: lalji@ccmb.res.in
6. Saurav Guha
DNA Typing Unit
Advanced Center for Biomedical
Sciences
Central Forensic Science
Laboratory
30, Gorachand Road
Kokata-700 014
India
Want to know more about
Forensic DNA typing? Well, long time back I wrote an article on
Forensic DNA typing, which dealt with basic procedure and genetics
involved. It was published in a leading science monthly of India,
Science Today. The exact reference of the article is:
Aggrawal A. DNA Fingerprinting.
Science Today, March 1988, Pages 10-15
I have made a scan of that
article, which anyone can download for personal study. This article
would be most useful for beginners. Please note that this article deals
with the technique that was prevalent in late 80s (when the article was
written), i.e. RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism). Now
this technique is almost obsolete. It has now been replaced with STR
technique (Short Tandem Repeats). Nevertheless, the article should
provide lot of information for beginners, especially those who are
investigating the evolution of this amazing technique [Click each page
to enlarge, or right click on the image and then press "save target
as"].
page 10 page
11 page 12 page 13
page 14 page 15
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Did this article generate
some interest in you in the subject of Forensic DNA Typing? If yes, you
might want to read an excellent book on STR analysis. It is written by
a renowned authority in the field of Forensic DNA Typing, Dr. John
Butler (For an interview of Dr. Butler conducted by me, please click
here). It is called "Forensic DNA Typing - Biology, Technology and
Genetics of STR Markers". Its first edition which came out in 2001 was
a bestseller (please click here to know more about that edition). In
2005, the publishers (Elsevier Academic Press) have come out with the
second edition. How much material has been added in this edition can be
gauged from the fact that while the first edition had 322 pages, this
one has an astounding 660 pages! Very rarely have I seen an edition
growing so rapidly. This also reflects the rapidity with which this
field is evolving. This edition costs about $79.95.
The publishers were kind enough
to send me a copy for perusal. I have gone through this book from cover
to cover, and I can say this is the MOST IMPORTANT book on Forensic DNA
Typing in the market today. You can pick up one through amazon by
clicking on the cover of the book here. The link will also take you to
a number of other interesting books on Forensic DNA Typing which you
may want to read. Happy reading!
I have heard a lot about
forensic toxicology. What do these people do, and how can I become
one? Please visit my Forensic toxicology page by clicking here.
You will get answers to several of your questions. To get details on
how to become a forensic toxicologist, please contact:
Dr.V.V.Pillay, Chief, Poison
Control Centre,
Dept. of Forensic Medicine &
Toxicology,
Amrita Institute of Medical
Sciences,
Elamakkara, Cochin 682026.
India
Phones - 0484-339080, Ext.8052
(O);
0484-807055 (R); 98952 82388
(Cell).
Email:
toxicology@aimshospital.org
To acquire more information
on Forensic Toxicology, you can join a very popular newsgroup called
"Criminal Poisoning" by clicking here.
Many nurses have contacted
me asking if there is any scope for them to get involved in Forensics.
Yes, certainly there is. They can take up a lucrative career in
Forensic Nursing. To know more about forensic nursing, please get in
touch with Ms. Virginia Lynch, who is a certified Forensic Nurse,
working in USA. To contact her via Email, please click here.
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Some people have written
that they are experienced photographers, and is it possible for them to
take up forensic science in any way. Yes, they could take up Forensic
Photography, which is fast becoming a lucrative career. They can
profitably go through the following book for more information:
The Practical Methodology of
Forensic Photography, Second Edition by David R. Redsicker (CRC Press).
This book can also be bought online.
If you are a trained
artist, you can take up forensic art and illustration as a career. For
more information you can go through the following book.
Forensic Art and Illustration,
1st Edition, by Karen T. Taylor (CRC Press).
For more information about this
book, you may want to click here
I am an architect. What
options do I have? You can specialize in architecture of
mortuaries and forensic science institutes. Mortuaries have special
architectural requirements. These include special spaces or enclosures
to receive dead bodies, to interact with police and other law
enforcement agencies, to preserve dead bodies for long periods, to
conduct post-mortem examinations and so on. An architect must take into
account all these considerations, before he can design an impressive
and effective institute. Well, in this short space, it may not be
possible for me to explain you everything. Those of you who want to
know more can contact Manidipa Basu of the J.J. School of Arts and
Architecture who has completed a very good project on a similar
subject. To contact Manidipa Basu, please click here
I am a
psychologist/psychiatrist by training. You don't want to tell me I too
have chances in the forensic field? Well, why not? You can become
a forensic psychologist and/or a forensic psychiatrist. What is their
exact role? Consider this situation. A person has committed a murder.
Most countries have a law whereby an insane person is exempted from
punishment if he has committed a crime (including murder). In India,
section 84 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), specifically makes this
provision. So naturally one of the strategies of the defence is to
prove that the accused was insane at the time of committing the murder.
How does one decide whether he was really insane or not? Well, call the
forensic psychiatrist!
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If you are really
interested in forensic psychology, I would suggest you two excellent
books, which I have gone through, and which I have found most
appealing. Both have been published by John Wiley. They are:
1. The Handbook of
Forensic Psychology, 2nd Edition, 1999, by Allen K. Hess and Irving B.
Weiner, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY
10158-0012, USA. xii + 756 pages, ISBN 0-471-17771-7. Hardcover
$130.00. This book can be purchased either through amazon, or by
visiting the John Wiley site at http://www.wiley.com
2. Essentials of
Forensic Psychological Assessment, 1st Edition, 1999, by Marc J.
Ackerman, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY
10158-0012, USA. x + 294 pages, ISBN 0-471-33186-4. softcover $34.95.
This book too can either be purchased through amazon, or by visiting
the publisher's (John Wiley) site at http://www.wiley.com
Another good link to follow
(for forensic psychology) is this. This gives information about another
good book called "Introduction to Forensic Psychology". This book has
been published by Academic Press. For more information on this book,
please click here.
Want to know more about
forensic psychiatry? Well, why not contact my friend George Palermo,
who is a highly successful forensic psychiatrist. He has written a
number of books on forensic psychiatry, and you would surely benefit
from his advice. Another expert you can contact is Marianne
Kristiansson of Sweden.
To know more about Forensic
Psychology, you may want to visit the excellent page by Dr. Margaret A.
Lloyd. It's called "Marky Lloyd's Careers in Psychology Page", and can
be accessed by clicking here. You can even contact her for personal
advice by Clicking here.
I have specialized in
botany. What are my chances? Good! You could become a forensic
botanist. These are the people who utilize their knowledge of botany in
the investigation of crime. One of the very first cases, which utilized
the knowledge of trees and plants in the investigation of crime was the
kidnapping of the 19 month old infant son of Charles A. Lindbergh
(1902-1974), the famous aviator, who will always be remembered for the
first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris,
on May 20-21, 1927.
Charles Augustus, Jr.,
Lindbergh’s son was kidnapped from the second floor of his newly
completed home in Hopewell, New Jersey, sometime between 8 and 10 pm on
March 1, 1932. The kidnapper had used a home made ladder (having cleats
rather than rungs) to get into the second floor. The ladder was found
at the scene.
Although a ransom of 50,000
dollars was paid (in marked bills), the highly decomposed body of the
infant was found on May 12, 1932, in a wood about two miles from the
Lindbergh estate.
A suspect Bruno Hauptmann was
apprehended more than two years later (on September 19, 1934). A
massive forensic investigation followed. One of the experts who
participated in this investigation was the wood expert Arthur Koehler
(1885-1967), who (applying his knowledge of tress and their wood)
traced the wood used in the ladder to a Lumber Company in Bronx, New
York. Hauptmann worked in this company. Furthermore Koehler studied the
wood serving as the floor of the attic of Hauptman’s apartment. A piece
of wood had been sawn off it and had been used to make the ladder. By
studying the grain of the two pieces (wood on the floor of the attic of
Hauptman’s apartment, and wood used in the ladder), Koehler could say
that the they once formed the same piece. On April 3, 1936, Hauptmann
went to the electric chair.
The following article is written
by Arthur Koehler (who can be regarded as the father of modern forensic
botany) about this case. Readers wanting to know more can refer to this
article.
Koehler Arthur (1937) Techniques
used in tracing the Lindbergh Kidnapping ladder. Am J Police
Science;27:5
This case in all its detail can
also be read from:
Graham SA (1997) Anatomy of the
Lindbergh kidnapping. J For Sci; 42(3): 368-377
Another good article on the same
case appeared in The Microscope, Vol. 31, no. 1 (1983), pages 1-14.
This interesting case is also reproduced in a number of books. Two of
the best that I can recommend are (i) Criminalistics - An Introduction
to Forensic Science by Richard Saferstein (7th Edition, 2000) and (ii)
The casebook of forensic detection - How Science solved 100 of the
World's most baffling crimes by Colin Evans
Here are some more examples of
how a forensic botanist can help in the investigation of crime.
(i) A dead body is found in a
forest. The crime investigation team calls a forensic botanist. He
recovers several pollen grains from the dead man’s shirt, which come
from fir trees. There are no fir trees around. The inevitable
conclusion: Either the man worked in an area where there were fir
tress, or he was murdered at such a place. The police look around and
ten miles away find a place where there are fir trees. Some blood is
found, which can be matched with that of the murder victim. Some tire
marks are found at this “new” scene of crime, from which the murderer’s
car can be identified and he is apprehended. Had the forensic botanist
not told about fir trees, the police would never have ventured as far
as ten miles away from the scene of crime!
(ii) A dead body is lying in a
forest. The leaves and grass under his body have turned yellow. If
shielded from the sun, leaves and grass loose their chlorophyll in a
certain fixed interval of time (two weeks minimum). From this
observation it can be said that the body was lying there for at least
two weeks (Calculation of the time since death)
(iii) A thief enters the house of
a person through a window on the first floor. The entry is through his
garden. The thief is clever enough to use gloves to prevent leaving
fingerprints. He also takes care to wipe all footprints, and thinks he
has done a perfect crime. Next day about ten suspects are rounded up,
who were seen loitering around that region at the time the burglary was
committed. The police asks them to submit their clothes. A forensic
botanist examines the pollen grains found on the clothes of all. Only
the clothes of the actual criminal actually match the “pollen print” of
the victim’s garden. He is apprehended.
(iv) What is a “pollen print”?
Well, every geographical area - small or large - has a unique “pollen
print”. It refers to the specific combination of the types of pollens
and spores found only in that area. The specific ration of the pollen
grains further “individualizes” the pollen print. Let us imagine that
the victim above grew 5 different types of flowers in his garden -
roses, marigolds, Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus), petunia and
tulips, and they were in such numbers that the ambient air in and
around the garden contained pollens in the following ratio:
Roses: marigolds: Carnation:
petunia: tulips = 25%:10%:20%:30%:15%
This is the “pollen print” of the
victim’s garden. On entering the garden, the suspect would have gone
through this ambient air, and the pollens would have stuck to his
clothes in roughly the same ratio. Any other suspect who has not been
to that garden is very unlikely to have the very same pollen in the
very same ration. It has even been said that pollen prints could have
been used in the famous O.J.Simpson case. It is known that the person
who killed Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown and her boy friend Ron
Goldman on the night of June 12, 1994 hid in ambush under a flowering
willow tree before escaping. In this situation the killer's hair and
clothes would have got heavily soiled with the pollen from this tree.
All the police had to do was to collect pollen samples from the hair
and clothes of O.J.Simpson. Had willow pollen been found in these
places, it would have been very difficult for the defense to account
for them. On the other hand if no willow pollen had been found, the
defence case would have got stronger, and there would be much less
suspicion surrounding the case today. It is however a fact that the
only country to use forensic botany in courts on a regular basis is
NewZealand. Police personnel in other countries are simply not aware of
its many potentials.
Pollen prints are now used in
investigation of terrorism. Suspect letters, letter bombs etc would
have the pollen print of the area where they originated. Thus the
origin of such letters can be determined. The science of analyzing
pollen and spores to help solve criminal cases is known as Forensic
palynology.
For more help you may want to
contact the following experts, who are world renowned experts on
forensic botany.
David O. Norris:
david.norris@buffmail.Colorado.EDU
Jane H. Bock:
jane.bock@colorado.edu
Some useful literature (paper
citations etc.) on forensic botany can be seen at:
http://www.dal.ca/~dp/webliteracy/projects/forensic/usefullit.html
http://spot.colorado.edu/~norrisd/forensic.htm
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I am interested in firearms
and want to become a forensic ballistic expert. What should I do? Well,
I told you something about forensic ballistics earlier. However two
best forensic ballistic experts that I know of are (i) Gerald L. Hurst
and (ii) James L. Roberts. Click on their names to send mails to them.
Both of them are quite helpful and would be too glad to help you. Good
luck!
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I know a lot about
computers. Can I also be a forensic specialist? Great! You certainly
can. You can have a bright future in computer forensics. These are the
specialists who can analyse a computer and tell to the police all the
illegal activities going on through that. If someone has been sending
offending, threatening or sexually explicit mails to other persons, he
can no more get away by simply denying his involvement. A computer
forensic specialist can sit at his computer and can retrieve all the
messages he has been sending through it. You might think that deleting
these messages from the computer would erase all evidence, but this is
not the case, as any computer specialist will tell you. People who have
been throwing computer viruses through the internet have been caught in
a similar way. There are a host of other illegal activities in the
field of computers, such as hacking, altering banking records,
personnel information etc, which can be caught by a forensic computer
specialist.
These days, high tech crimes are
being carried out by passing on messages through internet, Emails,
websites etc. A forensic computer specialist can catch all of them. In
a recent case of attack on the Indian Parliament by some terrorists (13
December 2001), a laptop was found in the possession of some of their
supporters, and lot of incriminating information could be retrieved
from it. On the basis of that information, more terrorists were later
apprehended.
Amity Institute (please see
above), offers a one year PG Diploma in Cyber Crime and Cyber
Law.
If you want to read more on this
fascinating subject, three of the best books that I can heartily
recommend to all of you are:
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1. Handbook of
Computer Crime Investigation - Forensic Tools and Technology, by Eoghan
Casey. Academic Press, Harcourt Place, 32 Jamestown Road, London NW1
7BY, UK. 320 pages, ISBN 0121631036. Price £26.95
2. Digital Evidence
and Computer Crime: Forensic Science, Computers and the Internet, 1st
Edition (third printing 2001) by Eoghan Casey. Academic Press, Harcourt
Place, 32 Jamestown Road, London NW1 7BY, UK. xvi + 279 pages, ISBN
0-12-162885-X. Price $69.95
3. Forensic
Computing - A Practitioner's guide, 2000 (Second Printing 2001) by Tony
Sammes and Brian Jenkinson Springer-Verlag, GmbH & Co.KG,
Tiergartenstrasse 17, D-69121 Heidelberg, Germany. xii+ 295 pages, ISBN
1-85233-299-9. softcover $49.95
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I have gone through all three of
them, and I can say from my personal experience that they are the best
in the field. The second of these (Digital Evidence and Computer Crime:
Forensic Science, Computers and the Internet) comes with a CD, with a
number of cases on it. You can actually try your hand at solving cases.
I tried solving a few of them, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The first two books have been published by Elsevier Science - Academic
press, and the third by Springer-Verlag. All these can be bought either
through the publishers' site (you can go to the publishers' site by
clicking on the book covers) or through regular book vendor sites such
as amazon.com. A more detailed review of Digital Evidence and Computer
Crime also appears in Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic
Medicine and Toxicology and can be accessed by clicking here.
I am an Engineer by
Profession. I want to learn about Forensic Science. And is there some
way I can become a forensic specialist? Yes, you can have a very
lucrative career in an exciting discipline called Forensic Engineering.
If a structure (a building, a bridge etc.) was demolished by, say,
planting a bomb inside (or by sabotage in any other manner), a clever
forensic engineer can examine the nature and extent of damage to tell
the investigating authorities, where the bomb was planted. These are
the specialists who can examine the extent of damage on crashed
vehicles and tell the investigating authorities the speed with which
the vehicles were travelling at the time of the crash. Or they can
examine the tyre tracks on the roads to tell which driver applied
brakes and which didn't. Knowing the speed of vehicles is obviously
very important, because if one of the vehicles had overstepped the
normal driving speed in a city (normally 40 km/hr), that driver is
obviously the culprit. There are a number of other ways in which
engineers can help the law and crime investigating agencies.
I am a meteorologist. What
kind of a forensic specialist can I become? Great! Meteorology, as we
all know, comprises of a systematic study of short-term (i.e.
day-to-day) variations in temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind,
cloud cover, and precipitation, along with their causes. It provides
the basis for weather forecasting. Meteorology is closely related to,
but distinct from, climatology, which deals with weather conditions in
a given area over an extended period of time (from a month to many
millions of years).
You can have a great career in
forensic meteorology and can become a very successful forensic
meteorologist.
Forensic Meteorology entails
researching weather documents for use in court room litigation. Some
meteorologists simply hand the information over and state that
conditions are favorable for the formation of ice, snow, water,
lightning or some other form of weather phenomena that led to the
accident (be it fire, auto accident, hypothermia.....). The work of
some forensic meteorologists goes further in that they inspect sites
where the accident occurred and look at factors not depicted on weather
maps/charts and that includes terrain layout. This takes it down to a
micro climate which can drastically affect how the weather affects you.
So, instead of someone being charged in a vehicle manslaughter case,
they would find that strong winds funneled through a low valley and
channeled through an open field and created wind speed sheer which made
the driver over-correct on a slippery road, thereby causing the
accident where someone died. (Act of GOD) as the Court defines
it.
Like it? Well, if you want to
know more about forensic meteorology, consult my friend Greg MacMaster,
who is a very successful forensic meteorologist. You can send him an
Email by clicking here.
I am a physiologist. I have
specialized in physiology. Is there a specialty called forensic
physiology? If yes, what do forensic physiologists do? Yes, indeed
there is a specialty called forensic physiology and you can be a
successful forensic physiologist. These specialists utilize their
knowledge of physiology to help law enforcing authorities in a number
of ways. Several examples can be given but I will give just one.
Let us imagine that a person was
found dead in his bedroom in the morning at about 6 am, when his maid
came to clean his room. Everybody saw him take his evening meals at
around 10 pm, after which he went to bed. Thus clearly he died sometime
between 10 pm and 6 am, but nobody knows the exact time of death. This
information may be very vital to the police. A forensic physiologist
would look at the deceased's stomach contents and can opine the time he
survived after taking the meals. Usually the stomach empties completely
in about 3 hours, but a lot depends on the type of food taken
(vegetarian or non-vegetarian; solid or liquid; less in quantity or
more; high in calories or low; hot or cold; spicy or bland and so on).
A lot also depends on the psychological state of the person. For
instance if the person is emotionally tense, the food tends to stay in
the stomach for a longer time. The emptying of stomach stops when the
person dies, and the food remains where it was. A forensic physiologist
would take all these factors in consideration. Seeing how much food has
remained in the stomach and considering all the variables, he can opine
the length of time the person remained alive after ingesting the food.
Suppose in the given hypothetical case, the physiologist is of the
opinion that the person survived about 2 hours after ingesting the
food, it would mean that he died around 12 midnight (he took meals at
10 pm). This fact can be co-related with other police investigations to
catch the criminal.
Similarly by seeing the amount of
urine in the bladder, a forensic physiologist can opine upon the time
of death. I once solved an actual case by this method. You can access
this story by clicking here.
I am a podiatrist. What
options do I have? You can practice Forensic Podiatry. Dr Wesley
Vernon, Head of Podiatry Service and Research Lead at Sheffield tells
me that Forensic podiatry covers the following subjects namely (i)
Individualisation from footwear (ii) Barefoot print analysis (iii) CCTV
individualisation and finally (iv) Identification using podiatry
records. He goes on to say the following:
The added value of podiatric
involvement in individualisation from plantar morphology (both in
barefoot and footwear situations) is in utilising podiatry knowledge to
consider the differences between plantar marks/impressions of the same
individual caused by interaction with the footwear or through
function.
While forensic podiatry has been
practised by a few individuals since the 1970's, the formal
evidence-base is relatively limited, but is gradually being added to.
In the UK, this is handled quite nicely with the Bayesian approach to
evidence-handling, but the work very much operates at class and not
unique level for this reason.
For more information, you can
visit a very interesting site called BAHID (British Association for
Human Identification) at www.bahid.org, where they have a separate
section on forensic podiatry. You may also want to contact Dr. Wesley
Vernon himself by clicking here.
I am a veterinary surgeon.
What options do I have? Lovely! You can be a great forensic veterinary
surgeon. A forensic veterinary surgeon conducts autopsies on dead
animal bodies and tries to find out their cause of death, just as an
ordinary forensic pathologist (like myself) conducts autopsies on human
beings. You may ask why one would want to know the cause of death of an
animal at all? Well, there could be a number of reasons, but I will
give you just few. In this country (and presumably in several other
countries too), one of the preferred ways to get even with an enemy is
to kill his cattle (or pets). Many people do it in very clever ways to
avert suspicion (you may want to visit my story on "poisoning by Ratti
seeds" by clicking here, to get some idea of this). In such cases it is
very important for the police to know how the cattle died. A forensic
veterinary surgeon can do this very well, by conducting a thorough
autopsy. In alleged spurious animal deals too a forensic veterinary
specialist can help a great deal (to verify the age of the animal being
sold such as horses, or other alleged specialties of the animal). You
can also enter the field of wildlife forensics?
Wildlife forensics? Never
heard of this. What is this? Wildlife forensic specialists are the ones
who detect illegal trading in wildlife articles such as elephant tusks,
lion and tiger skins, bones, furs - even internal organs of animals
such as gall bladders! There are a host of animal products in which
illegal trading goes on. This is against the Wild life Acts in most
countries. I am personally aware of one case in which an international
traveller was trying to smuggle bear bile! Bile is a greenish fluid
found in gall bladders of animals, and according to some local beliefs,
is thought to be a great cure for several diseases. When this person
was intercepted at the customs, he asserted that it was some medicine
(which indeed it was, but it was prohibited!). A forensic wild life
specialist was given the task of analysing that sample, and he opined
the fluid must have come from the gall bladder of a bear of a protected
species. He could say this by analysing the chemical composition of the
bile fluid. The smuggler was immediately arrested.
If you want to pursue a
course in Wildlife forensics, please contact:
Dr. S.P.Goyal or Dr. Reeta
Sharma
Wildlife Forensics Cell
Wildlife Institute of
India
P.O.Box 18, G.P.O.
Chandrabani
DehraDun 248001
India
I am an environmentalist. I
deal with such issues as environmental pollution. Does forensic science
hold anything for me? Sure.
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I am an anthropologist. How
can I be a forensic expert? Wonderful. So you have studied
anthropology. Anthropology, as we all know is the study of human
beings. In particular the anthropologists study human being's physical
character, evolutionary history, racial classification, historical and
present-day geographic distribution, group relationships, and cultural
history. Anthropology can be characterized as the naturalistic
description and interpretation of the diverse peoples of the
world.
Modern-day anthropology consists
of two major divisions. One is cultural anthropology, which deals with
the study of human culture in all its aspects and the second is
physical anthropology, which is the study of human physical character,
in both the past and present. Although both specialists can contribute
to forensic science in a number of ways, it is the physical
anthropologists who are most useful.
The beginnings of forensic
anthropology occurred with the studies of Dr. Thomas Dwight
(1843-1911), who was based at the University of Harvard, Massachusetts.
It was Dr. Dwight's research on bones which enabled us to know, how
much information we can provide the police with them. Dr. Thomas Dwight
- quite rightly - is now known as the father of American Forensic
Anthropology.
Consider a case where some bones
were recovered from an area inhabited thickly by Chinese and Asians and
very few Caucasians. How can you say from the bones, if the murdered
man was a Chinese Asian or a Caucasian? What can you know his height?
His occupation? Well, these are the questions which are dealt with by
the forensic anthropologists. The use of anthropology for the detection
of crime is known as forensic anthropology. One can now even
reconstruct the face of a person, if his skull is provided to an expert
forensic anthropologist.
I am an archaeologist. I
certainly can't join forensics, or can I? Oh, yes you can! You can
become a forensic archaeologist and work in close harmony with forensic
anthropologists about whom I have just described. You are obviously an
expert in precise archaeological techniques used in the recovery of old
historical material. You can use these very techniques in legal
exhumations or in the recovery of human remains who may be victims of
mass murder [as a result of genocides, such as those that occurred in
Hitler's regime (late 1930s and early 1940s) and later in Khmer Rouge
(during Pol Pot's regime between 1975-1979), Rwanda (in 1994),
Guatemala (1962 till 1996, including the infamous Rio Negro Massacre in
March 1982), Argentina (1976 till 1983), Chile (during Augusto
Pinochet's regime in 1973), Yugoslavia and several other places world
wide]. The use of archaeological techniques in the investigation of
crime is known as forensic archaeology. One of the most famous cases in
which forensic archaeology was used was the exhumation of Ernesto "Che"
Guevara (1928-1967), a doctor of medicine and a revolutionary, who was
born in Argentina but who ran resistance movements in other countries -
most notably Cuba and Bolivia. Che Guevara was born in Rosario,
Argentina on June 14, 1928 and studied medicine to become a doctor. But
he did not pursue a career in medicine. Instead he fought along with
Fidel Castro of Cuba in the late 1950s to overthrow Batista's regime.
[Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973) was the dictator who twice ruled Cuba
(in 1933-44 and again in 1952-59). As a dictator he jailed his
opponents, using terrorist methods, and made fortunes for himself and
his associates. He obviously became very unpopular]. In 1966 Guevara's
attention was directed towards Bolivia, where he hoped to repeat his
feats, but was brutally killed by the Bolivian army on Oct 9, 1967. His
hands were sawn off by the soldiers in order to establish his identity
(perhaps to convince their masters that he had indeed been killed). On
October 12, 1967, when Che's brother came to Bolivia to claim his
brother's body, he was denied it. The army claimed that the body had
been cremated, while in fact it had been buried.
Things stood like this till July
1995, when Bolivian General Mario Vargas Salinas claimed that he had
indeed participated in a mass burial near Vallegrande in Central
Bolivia (close to a dirt airstrip), and that Che Guevara had indeed
been buried there. Almost twenty eight years had passed since, and
obviously complex archaeological techniques were required to unearth
Guevara's body. A team of Forensic anthropologists and forensic
archaeologists applying techniques as diverse as ground penetrating
radar and digital imaging unearthed the remains of Che Guevara. His
remains were identified using a variety of forensic techniques. Guevara
- more than thirty years after his death - received a hero's welcome in
Cuba, where his remains were reburied in July 1997 (in a mausoleum at
Plaza Ernesto Che Guevara in Santa Clara, Cuba). Similar archaeological
techniques have been applied in the investigation of war crimes and
genocides.
I am an underwater scuba
diver. I want to join forensics. Now you really don't want to tell me I
can be a great forensic investigator too, or do you? Oh, yes, you can.
In fact, one or two sarcastic scuba divers asked me this question. They
thought there certainly was no scope for them in forensic science. You
might think the same and again you would be WRONG. If you are a trained
SCUBA diver, you can assist in the investigation of underwater crime
scenes. Imagine this scenario. A person has killed a person in a car,
and then pushed the car down a lake. This car has gone down and settled
at the bottom of the lake. How to get the car (and the dead body) to
the surface? How to do it so the incriminating evidence is
well-preserved? Well, this is done by trained scuba divers who have a
knowledge of forensic science.
That's not the only thing
you can do. There are a whole lot of possibilities. We all know about
the unfortunate fate of the Air India flight 182, a Boeing 747, which
took off from Toronto, Canada, with 329 people on board (including
crew) on June 22, 1985 (local time). Due to a bomb placed in the cargo
(because of suspected terrorist connections), it exploded in mid-air
while crossing the Atlantic (at approximately 8:13 am on 23 June 1985,
local time). All the 329 people on board died. The shattered plane sank
down 6,000 feet and came to rest on the ocean floor. There was much
evidence there including the Black Box (the popular name for the flight
data recorder and the cockpit recorder, which are kept on all flights
just for these eventualities), which could pin down the terrorists.
Remains of bombs could also give important leads. How to bring all that
material up? Well, here is where your skills (if you are a scuba diver)
would come in handy. Incidentally, the black boxes of this flight were
brought up in July 1985.
For more information, you
may want to read "THE UNDERWATER CRIME SCENE: Underwater Crime
Investigative Techniques" by Ronald F. Becker. This book has been
published by Charles C. Thomas and can be accessed by clicking
here.
I am a knot specialist, and
know nothing except knots. I want to join forensic science. I would be
damned if you told me, even I could be of some use! Yes, you too have a
great role to play in forensic science. If you are a specialist in
knots, you can become a forensic knot specialist!! What does a forensic
knot specialist do? Well, by utilizing his knowledge he can tell if the
knot used in, say, a case of hanging was tied by the person himself
(making it a case of suicide), or by some other person (making it a
case of homicide). Right handed, and left handed persons are known to
tie knots in different ways. Some people also have a penchant for
special knots. Some types of knots are too complicated for an untrained
person to accomplish. All these facts - and lots of others - will help
you decide who tied the knot in a given case. I know of cases, where a
servant working in a house robbed it himself (when the owners were away
at a party), stashed the money away at some safe place, and then gagged
himself and tied himself up to show the work was done by some dacoits.
Smart knot specialists have been able to determine in such cases that
the knots were tied by the person himself. With this knowledge, the
police swooped on the servant, and he confessed to the whole
crime!
I am a musician. I can't
join forensics, or can I? Oh, yes you can. You can have a lucrative
career in forensic musicology and become a forensic musicologist. These
are the people who use their knowledge of music to detect crimes such
as piracy in music. One of the famous cases regarding piracy in music
is Levine v. McDonald's 735 F. Supp. 92 (S.D.N.Y. 1990). The facts of
this highly interesting case are as follows:
In the early 1970s, Paul DiFranco
and Norman Dolph wrote a song Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)
(I will call if just "life" now for convenience sake). An arrangement
of this song by DiFranco, Mark Bellack and Joseph Levine was recorded
by a group called Reunion and released by RCA in 1974. The song became
an instant hit. In fact, it became one of the ten most popular songs in
the United States shortly after it was released. It was reputed to have
sold more than 750,000 copies.
So far, so good. In 1987, a
company called Leo Burnett Company, Inc. (again for convenience sake, I
will call it just "Burnett" from now onwards) hired Joseph Levine
(please note that he was one of the three who composed "life") and his
company, Joey Levine Crushing Music, to compose a jingle for its
client, McDonald's (the famous fast food outlet). Levine and his
company Crushing Music composed a song entitled "Good Time/Great Taste
McDonald's" (I will call it just "Good time" from now onwards). Levine
was paid handsomely for this song, and quite rightly he assigned all
rights of "Good time" to Burnett as agent for McDonald's. "Good time"
was used in numerous McDonald's commercials since 1988 as McDonald's
theme song.
In 1989, McDonald's decided to
modify the theme song. In the new jingle, they added a "patter" (please
see below), which had earlier been composed by DiFranco, Mark Bellack
and Joseph Levine way back in the 1970s, in their song "life". The new
modified song used by McDonald's was called the "Menu Song" (I will
call it just "menu" in my discussion). McDonald's obviously did not
possess the rights of the earlier song "life" from which the "patter"
had been taken.
What is a "patter"? Well, it is a
special technique in music, which musicians surely know better than me,
but I will attempt to tell you whatever little I know. In this
technique the words are sung in a rapid tempo. "Life" consisted of a
verse section, and a chorus section. The lyrics of the verse section of
"life" (using the patter technique) consisted of a list of Rock and
Roll icons. The patter section of "life" was nine measures long and
consisted of the pitch "G" repeated 128 times in a constant sixteenth
note pattern, followed by eight repetitions of the pitch "A" (one step
up in the scale), and ended with eight repetitions of "G" again.
The exact problem between the two
parties was this. The lyrics of the verse section of "life" (which
utilized the "patter technique") consisted of a list of Rock and Roll
icons. McDonald's in their "menu" replaced this list of Rock and Roll
icons with the food and beverage items on the McDonald's menu. The
patter section of "menu" also consisted of the rapid singing of the
lyrics in a constant sixteenth note pattern of one or two pitches. The
result was that whenever someone heard the "menu", he was invariably
reminded of "life". Thus McDonald's tried to encash on the earlier
popularity of "life". It was the contention of the plaintiffs, that
McDonald's could not have used that "patter", without their permission.
McDonald's on the other hand maintained that there was nothing original
in that "patter" and anyone could have used it.
What would the court do?
Obviously call a forensic musicologist and ask for his opinion. In this
case, both the plaintiff and the defendant took the help of a forensic
musicologist each. Plaintiff Joesph Levine took the help of the
forensic musicologist Judith Finell who opined that the harmony of
"menu" was "strikingly similar" to the harmony of "life". She also
opined that "life's" harmony was not a basic blues progression and that
the two songs were substantially similar in a number of ways.
Furthermore - according to her - the patter section of "life" was
sufficiently creative and could not have been placed in the public
domain. The defendant McDonald's took the opinion of another forensic
musicologist Earl V. Spielman, who opined otherwise. He opined that the
underlying melody and harmony of "menu" was the same as that of "good
time", and hence there was no problem (since the rights of "good time"
were already with Burnett, McDonald's agents). He also opined that the
patter of "life" lacked creativity and originality, and could be
construed as being in the public domain. After a much heated debate,
the court denied the defendants' motion.
Well, if you want to know more
about forensic musicology, why not contact Craig De Wilde, one of the
most famous in the field of forensic musicology. Please click here to
contact him.
Alright, I am an
astronomer. What do you have for me? You certainly don't want to tell
me I can utilize my knowledge of astronomy, planets, sun, moon and the
stars for detecting crime, or do you? Yes, you can. A new branch has
emerged recently which has been called "Forensic Astronomy". This is an
area which involves the use of astronomical information in the
assistance of criminal and civil litigation. Forensic astronomers are
people who utilize their knowledge of astronomy to calculate such
things as visibility at the scene of crime at the estimated or reported
time of crime. During the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Academy
of Forensic Sciences (from Feb 16-21, 2004), a very interesting paper
related to forensic astronomy was presented by three Turkish
scientists. This paper entitled "Applications of Forensic Astronomy in
Turkey" was presented by H. Bülent Üner, Emre Albek and
Ismail Cakir. In their paper, they tell us that forensic astronomers
use degrees of longitude and latitude of the scene, data from regular
astronomical almanacs, moon phases, the times of moonrise, moonset,
sunrise and sunset etc to calculate the visibility on the night of the
event. This information may serve to corroborate or refute the
statements made by victims, eye witnesses and the alleged
assailants.
In their paper, the three
scientists give another application of forensic astronomy. They tell us
that in Turkey (with mostly Islamic population) persons involved in a
criminal case sometimes report the time of occurrence in association
with the muezzine's call for prayer. In such cases forensic astronomers
have to calculate the exact hour of the praying call at the time of the
alleged crime. Readers wanting to contact these scientists may do so at
the following addresses (I have taken them from the "Proceedings of the
American Academy of Forensic Sciences", where an abstract of this paper
was printed. You can download it free from
http://www.aafs.org/pdf/crim.pdf)
H. Bülent Üner, Ph.D.
Institute of Forensic Sciences,
Istanbul University
Adli Typ Enstitüsü,
Cerrahpaba
Istanbul, 34301, Turkey
Emre Albek, M.D.
Cerrahpaba Medical Faculty,
Istanbul University
Cerrahpaba Typ Facültesi
Istanbul, 34301, Turkey
Ismail Cakir, Ph.D.
Council of Forensic Medicine,
Turkey
Adli Typ Kurumu,
Cerrahpaba
Istanbul, 34246, Turkey
You may also want to read a
highly informative article called "The growing field of forensic
astronomy" by Dr. Russell Sampson in the newsletter "The webfooted
astronomer" (Seattle Astronomical Society, April-May 2003). It is
available free of cost in pdf form at:
www.seattleastro.org/webfoot/WebAprilMay03.pdf
In this highly interesting
article, Dr. Sampson explains how he used his knowledge of astronomy to
decide whether the glare of the sun was responsible for accidents or
not, how he calculated the luminosity (due to moonshine) of an unlit
pathway where an accident occurred, and how he refuted the testimony of
a witness, who happened to assert that full moon was visible on the
night he witnessed the crime. Dr. Sampson, by his knowledge of
astronomy could prove in a court of law that the moon on the night in
question was in new phase and could NOT have been visible to the
witness. This threw the witness's credibility in question.
For more information on Forensic
Astronomy and how it can be used to solve some great cases, please read
an interview with the famous forensic astronomer, Larry Ciupik by
clicking here.
That's not all. If you venture
out in astrology (a rather pseudoscientific offshoot of astronomy) too,
check out a curious newsgroup called "Forensic Horary" at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Forensic_Horary/. The newsgroup claims
there exists a subject called Forensic astrology. The group defines
Forensic astrology as the use of horary and event charts in obtaining
information regarding murdered or missing people. The group covers
cases from past and present events. Since I am not an astrologer
myself, I can't comment anything on my own. But you certainly can join
the group and can find out more. Even if you are skeptical about such
pseudosciences as astrology, nothing prevents you from joining the
group and taking them head on.
Eugène-François
Vidocq (1775-1857), Head the Paris Sûreté-Nationale in the
early nineteenth century.
Alright, I am a crook and a
thief, and have served six years for my illegal actions. I have been at
loggerheads with forensic investigators all my life. I have you trapped
now! You certainly can't utilize my skills for forensic science. Oh
yes, I can. Surprisingly even a crook can be a great forensic
investigator! You may be surprised to know that at one time, the Head
of Sûreté-Nationale, the best known of France's four major
police organizations, was a crook, who used his knowledge of the
criminal mind in the service of law and order. His name was
Eugène-François Vidocq (1775-1857). He employed his
fellow crooks, to swoop down on criminals' dens, and they did it more
succesfully than today's police officers!
How could they do that?
Because they knew everything about crooks. How do they operate? Who are
their connections? What is their modus operandi? Who finances them?
What are their weak points? How can their weaknesses be exploited and
so on? In fact French police did some of its best work under Vidocq. If
you are a crook, you could even be an undercover agent. Talk to your
nearest police officer today. I am serious!! To learn more about who
the undercover agents are, please click here. Interestingly Vidocq
himself was an undercover agent first. It was only later that the
became the head of the great Sûreté-Nationale.
So I seem to have broken
the final frontier too. You could simply be a crook, to be a great
forensic investigator! To be involved in forensic science, you can be
anybody. You just have to use your area of specialty in some way to
help the police and law enforcement agencies.
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so much. You could be anybody; even a crook as I said earlier.
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