Forensic Medicine

By Benjo Otacan Paca R. Crim.

 Forensic Medicine
 It is a branch of medicine which deals with
the application of medical knowledge to
the purpose of law and in the
administration of justice.
 Dr. Rafael Genard Y Mas
 Made the first book of legal medicine in
1858.
 1895
 The year a medico-legal laboratory was
established in Manila.
 Medical
 It is something that refers to medicine
pertaining to its origin, nature and
characteristics.
 Medicine
 A science and art which deals with te
prevention and treatment of disease or
illness.
 Internal medicine
 It is a branch f medicine which deals with
the illness that can be prevented or cured
by the use of drugs or medicine.
 Surgery
 A branch of medicine which deals with the
affections of the body that needs drugs
and operative techniques in order to
alleviate or remedy the illness r defect.
 Pathology
 It is the study of the disease affecting the
body including the parts of the body that
is being affected.
 Gynecology
 A branch of medicine pertaining to the
disease of a woman.
 Obstetrics
 A branch of medicine which deals with he
pregnant woman and her fetus before,
during and after delivery.
 Medical Evidence
 It is a kind of evidence, sanctioned by law
of ascertaining in judicial proceedings the
truth respecting a matter of fact wherein
scientific medical knowledge will be used.
 Object evidence or Autoptic
evidence
 It is an evidence that is made known or
addressed to the senses of the court.
 Experimental Evidence
 A form of evidence extracted after an
experiment was performed in court to
prove a certain matter of fact.
 Hemorrhage
 It is the amount of blood loss in the body
without being replaced and may probably
imply that the cause of death in a person.
 Medico-legal death
 It refers to the death which involves in
crimes of medico-legal cases to prove or
disprove that the foul play had been done.
 Sociological death
 It is a type of death wherein the
withdrawal and separation from the
patient by others producing a sense of
isolation and abandonment.
 Psychic death
 The condition of death wherein the patient
regresses, gives up, accepting death
prematurely and refuses to continue living.
Effects when the muzzle of the gun
is held contact with the body
 Blackened area surrounding the hole
 Singeing of the fiber at the entrance
 Presence of burned particles
Effects when the muzzle of the gun
is held about 2-8 inches from the
target
 Smudging
 Tattooing
Effect when the muzzle of the gun
is held about 36 inches or more
from he target
 absence of tattooing
 Smudging
 The result from burned gunpowder which
appear around the wound.
 Tattooing
 The result of tiny unburned gunpowder
being deposited into the wound.
Points of Identification Applicable to
the Living Only
 Growth of hair, beard or mustache
 Clothing
 Mental memory
 Speech
 Gait
 Mannerism
 Hands and feet
 Facies
 Gait
 It is the manner of walking of a person.
 Mannerism
 The unusual or peculiar movements of the
body or its parts.
 Different kinds of mannerism
 Way of sitting
 Movement of the hands
 Movement of the body
 Movement of the facial muscles
 Expression of the mouth while articulating
 Different features of the face
 Faces Lionina
 Myxedemic face
 Mongolian face
 Faces Lionina
 A person with a big face and prominent
cheek bones.
 Myxedemic face
 Face of a person which is pale, swelled
cheeks which do not it on pressure,
associated with dullness, slow speech and
muscle weakness.
 Mongolian Face
 The dull look appearance of a person
characterized by almond shape eyes, pale
complexion and prominence of cheekbone.
Points of Identification Applicable to
Both Living and Before Onset of

Decomposition
Occupation Marks
 Stature
 Teeth
 Tattoo marks
 Weight
 Deformities
 Injuries leaving permanent result
 Moles
 Scars
 Sexual organ
 Blood group
 Kinds of Occupation Marks
 A shoemaker develops a depressed
sternum
 A tailor develops bursae over external
malleoli
 Masons have callosities at the base of the
thumb
 Dressmakers have pigmented index finger
 How to determine Whether the
Remains is Human Origin or not
 The oval or round shape of the skull and
the less prominence of the lower jaw and
nasal bone are suggested of human
remains.
 A complete lay-out of the whole bones
and placing each of theme on their
corresponding places in the human body
will be helpful in such determination.
 How to Determine Whether the
Remains Come from a Single
Individual or Not
 A complete lay-out of he bones on the
table in their exact locations in the human
body is necessary.
 A plurality or excess f the bones after a
complete lay-out denotes than remains
belong to more than one person.
 Types of the Bones that must be
Studied in the determination of Sex
 Pelvis
 Skull
 Sternum
 Femur
 Humerus
 Difference between Male and
Female Pelvis
 Male- less diameter, heavier
 Female-greater diameter, lighter
 Difference between a Male and
Female Sternum
 Male- 46.2
 Female- 54.3
 Difference between a Male and
Female Femur
 Male- 80.147
 Female-69.886
 Difference between the Male and
Female Humerus
 Male-48.7
 Female- 42.6
 Conclusive Evidence for the
Determination of Sex
 Presence of ovary for female
 Presence of testis for male
 Rules in the determination of the
Age of the Fetus less than 25
cms.long
 Find the square rot of the length in
centimeters and the result is the ag of the
fetus in lunar month.
 Rule in the Determination of the
age of the Fetus 25cms. long or
more
 Divide the length of the fetus in cm. B 5,
and the result will be the age in lunar
month.
 Problems to be Considered in the
Examination of Blood
 Determine whether the stain is due to
blood
 If due to blood, determine if it is human
origin or not
 If of human origin, to what group does it
belong
 Does it belong to the person in queston
 Age of the blood stain
 Preliminary Test to Determine
Blood
 Benzidine Test
 Guaiacum Test
 Phenolphthalein Test
 Leucomalachite Test
 Benzidine Test
 Very sensitive to blood
 Can Detect blood even it has already
decomposed
 The positive result will show blue color
 Guaiacum Test
 If blood is present a blue color is imparted
by the mixture.
 Phenolphthalein Test
 A positive result will show a pink color
after the addition of hydrogen peroxide
 The only test proves the presence of
peroxidase.
 Leucomalachite Green Test
 Less sensitive
 A positive result will show green color
 Precipitin Test
 A test that determine if it is a human
blood or not.
 ABO System
 Use to determine blood type.
 Type O
 Most common blood
 Type AB
 Most rarest blood
 Blood
 Circulating tissue of the body
 6 quarts or 1 ½ gal.
 Volume of blood for a man with an
average size.
 Composition of Blood
 Plasma
 Cells
 Serum
 Hemoglobin
 Antigens
 Peroxidase
 Antibodies
 Plasma
 Fluid portion of blood
 Serum
 Pale yellowish liquid that separates when
blood clots.
 Hemoglobin
 Red coloring matter of blood
 Antigens
 Imparts blood type characteristics
 Peroxidase
 Enzyme found in blood
 Antibodies
 Destroys a specific antigen
 Test to Determine How Closely
Can You Associated Blood to a
Particular Individual
 Characterization of Antigen
 Characterization Of Blood Enzymes
 DNA typing
How to Determine the Age of Blood
Stains
 When blood is expose o the atmosphere or some
other influences, its hemoglobin is converted to
meth-hemoglobin or hematin.The color is
changed from red to reddish brown. The
presence of acid accelerates the formation of
hematin. These changes take place in warm
weather within 24 hours. Blood of one week old
and that of six weeks may not present difference
in physical and chemical properties.
Differential Characteristics of Blood
from Different Source
 Arterial blood
 Venous blood
 Menstrual blood
 Man’s or woman’s blood
 Child’s blood
 Arterial blood
 Bright scarlet in color
 Leaves he blood vessel with pressure
 High oxygen
 Venous blood
 Dark red in color
 Does not spread far from the wound
 Low oxygen
 Menstrual blood
 Does not clot
 Acidic reaction owing to mixture with
vaginal mucous
 Child’s blood
 It is thin and soft compared with adult
 Characteristics of the Hair
 Hair on the body is fine while those from
the beards, mustache and scalp are very
thick.
 Hair from the scalp grows 2.5 cm a month
and beard hair grows at the rate of 0.4
mm a day.