Aims and objectives

of forensic medicine
Department of Forensic Medicine
Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz
 Definitions

• Forensic science also known as

criminalistics, is the application of science to
criminal and civil law, mainly during criminal
investigation, governed by the legal standards of
admissible evidence and criminal procedure.
• Forensic scientists collect, preserve, analyse and
interpret scientific evidence during the course of an
investigation.
 Definitions

Forensic medicine is a broad term used to

describe a group of medical specialties which deal
with the examination and diagnosis of individuals
who have been injured by or who have died because
of external or unnatural causes and apply findings to
law (i.e. court cases).
Forensic medicine is a multi-disciplinary field which
includes the practice of forensic pathology, forensic
psychiatry, forensic dentistry, forensic radiology and
forensic toxicology
 Definitions

• Forensic medicine (in Poland) is one

combined medical specialty which forms a bridge
between wider medical knowledge and elements of
the forensic sciences and law, serving professional
assistance to law enforcement agencies and
criminal justice
 Tasks:

• The examination of both living and dead

victims and pieces of evidence in
connection with the investigation of crime
or the assessment of injury to health.
 Aims:

• The medical examiner/pathologist -

is primarily concerned with the investigation of
violent, sudden, unexpected, and suspicious deaths
determining the cause and manner of death,
identifying the deceased if unknown, determining the
approximate time of death,
 Aims:

• collecting evidence from the body

• prove or disprove an individual's guilt or innocence
• confirm or deny the account of how the death
occurred,
• documenting injuries or lack of them,
• deducing how the injuries occurred,
• determining or excluding other contributory factors
 Cause vs manner of death

• The cause of death is a specific disease or injury, in

contrast to the manner of death which is a small
number of categories like "natural", "accident",
"suicide", and "homicide", which have different
legal implications.
 Manner of death:

• Natural, violent, sudden, unexpected, suspicious?

• Examination of the body –
antemortem/perimortem/postmortem
• changes occurring in the corpse after death -
thanatology
 Cause of death:

• CAUSALITY
• Establishing mechanisms of action of various kinds
of injuries (mechanical, thermal, electrical,
chemical, and other factors) and explanations of the
effects of these injuries and the circumstances in
which they may arise and contribute to death.
 Contributors:

• Appart from the mechanical contributors – the

most common ones are chemicals causing injury or
contributing by effecting central nervous system.
• Forensic medical toxicology, with particular
emphasis on the impact of alcohol and other
substances having a similar effect on the human
body by testing the concentration of these
substances in the body fluids/tissues
 Identification:

• Forensic medical genetics

• DNA fingerprinting (STR)
• Paternity testing/maternity testing
• Further kinship with famillial DNA
• Identifiaction of biological evidence
victim/witness/prepatrator
 How it starts?

• Examination of the deceased

1. Inspection of the corpses in the place where they
are found – crime scene
2. External and internal examination in the autopsy
room
 Crime scene objectives:

1. Certifying death - verify the death, to confirm that

the person has died (known as 'formal verification
of death').
2. Determining the probable time of death - PMI
3. Assistance in securing evidence and biological
traces and the identity of the person
Crime scene – coditions, positioning...
Record from all sides and angels
 Early sings of death

• Right after we die, there are 4 stages of changes

that occur in the body. They are used, primarily, to
determine the time of death or post mortem index
(PMI) in forensic pathology.
• Timeframe of 3 -72h
• Pallor Mortis, Algor Mortis, Rigor Mortis and
Livor Mortis.
 Pallor mortis

• (Latin: pallor "paleness", mortis "of death"), the

first stage of death, is an after-death paleness that
occurs in those with light/white skin. An opto-
electronical colour measurement device can be
used to measure pallor mortis on bodies.
Pallor mortis
 Algor mortis

• (Latin: algor - coldness), the second stage of death,

is the change in body temperature post mortem,
until the ambient temperature is matched. This is
generally a steady decline, although if the ambient
temperature is above the body temperature (such as
in a hot desert), the change in temperature will be
positive, as the (relatively) cooler body acclimates
to the warmer environment. External factors can
have a significant influence
Algor mortis - rate
 Rigor mortis:

• is a postmortem change resulting in the stiffening

of the body muscles due to chemical changes in
their myofibrils.
• Rigor mortis helps in estimating the time since
death as well to ascertain if the body had been
moved after death.
• Sets in 2-4h and last until 72h, if you break it
within first 3h it’ll come back fully if later not
completely
 Livor mortis:

• (also called hypostasis) is the pooling of the blood

in the body due to gravity and the lack of blood
circulation as a result of the cessation of cardiac
activity (Knight, 2002). These factors cause the
blood to pool in the lowest points of the body,
giving the skin a purplish-red discoloration.
• Sets after 12h if it’s transferable it’s usualy less
then 12h if but if fixed in two oposing location 6-
12h
Livor mortis
Securing evidence
Securing biological traces, spatter…
 Types of cases

1. Cases of suspected violent death (accidents,

suicide, homicide)
2. Infanticide
3. Suspected malpractice, medical error
4. Unidentified corpses
 Stages of autopsy

1. External examination of corpses

2. The opening of the main body cavities (3)
3. Autopsy of the internal organs
4. Additional materials for further study
(histopathological, alcohol/toxicology, DNA,
trace/fiber/bones anthropological)
 Sudden death vs. Violant

• Sudden death is any kind of death that happens

unexpectedly. ... sudden natural causes, such as
heart attack, brain haemorrhage, or cot death.
• Violent death is resulting from a large external
factor on the system (mechanical, thermal,
chemical)
• Practically:
suicide, murder but also traffic injuries,
hypothermia, fire and others accidents
 The most common cases of
suicide:
- hanging
- drug/alcohol intoxication
- puncture wounds, cut wounds
- gunshot wounds
- fall from a high structure
- other
Typical hanging
Hanging – ligature mark
belt print
Ligature strangulation (also known as "garroting") is
strangling with some form of cord such as rope, wire,
chain, or shoelaces, either partially or fully
circumferencing the neck.
Suicide – atypical hanging
 Unusual suicide -
strangulation by
repeatedly covering
the neck with string
Suicide - drug intoxication (alcohol)
Suicide - cut wounds in the wrist
Suicide - inlet gunshot wound
 Gunshot wound
- part of the temple bone
 Homicides

• The most common cases

- Asphyxiation - strangulation, choking
- Stab wounds to the chest, neck
- Cranio-cerebral injuries
Attempted murder - strangulation - horizontal marks on the neck
Ligature strangulation - horizontal marks on the neck
Homicide - numerous stab wounds to the neck
Homicide – defense injuries
Homicide – defense injuries
Homicide – head injury
Homicide – head injury
 Examintion of living persons

1. Criminal Cases – fights, assault, domestic violance,

sexual abuse, traffic injuries
2. Civil Cases – insurrence claims, compensation for
offenses against an individual or an organization.
 Criminal case

- Other forensic examination: rape victims, other

victims of criminal acts (traffic accidents, poisoning),
- Also whether they are healthy enough to participate
in the trial and withstand the prison sentence
Violence against minors
– child abuse syndrome
 Purpose of the medical examination
in forensic medicine

1. Registration of number, type and location of

injuries
2. Attempting to identify the type of tool
3. The time of injuries
4. Corroboration of testimonies (mechanism, time of
injury, what kind of tool or object)
Child abuse syndrome - injuries
Child abuse syndrome - injuries
Battered child syndrome– death by suffocation
Battered child syndrome– death by suffocation
Child abuse syndrome– example injuries
Thank you