Essential Forensic Medicine

Provides an invaluable distillation of key topics in forensic medicine for undergraduate, masters, and postgraduate students

Essential Forensic Medicine covers the broad area of the forensic medical sciences, delivering core knowledge in the biomedical sciences, and the law and ethics surrounding them. Concise, accessible chapters cover a wide range of topics from basic forensic identification and examination techniques to forensic toxicology and psychiatry.

Written by internationally-recognized experts in the field, this authoritative guide offers complete chapter coverage of the legal system, courts, and witnesses; investigation of the deceased and their lawful disposal; and the duties of a registered medical practitioner and the General Medical Council. It instructs readers on the general principles of scene examination and the medico-legal autopsy including how to interpret the many kinds of injuries one can suffer—including those from blunt impact and sharp force, firearms and explosives, asphyxia and drowning. Further chapters cover sexual offences, child abuse, and using DNA in human identification, mental health, alcohol and drug abuse.

    A fresh, accessible, up to date textbook on forensic medicine
    Written by a well-known experts with decades of experience in the field
    Includes numerous figures and tables, and detailed lists of key information
    Features numerous case studies to reinforce key concepts and ideas explored within the book
    Helps students to prepare for examinations and enables practitioners to broaden their understanding of the discipline

Part of the “Essential Forensic Science” series, Essential Forensic Medicine is a highly useful guide for advanced undergraduate students, master’s students, and new practitioners to the field.

Table of contents

Preface

The Editors

Contributors

Acknowledgements

1. The legal system, courts and witnesses
Peter Vanezis

2. Investigation of the deceased and their lawful disposal
Peter Vanezis

3. The duties of a registered medical practitioner and the General Medical Council
Peter Vanezis

4. General principles of scene examination
Peter Vanezis

5. The medico-legal autopsy
Peter Vanezis

6.  Interpretation of injuries – general principles, classification and age estimation
Peter Vanezis

7.  Blunt impact trauma
Peter Vanezis

8. Sharp force trauma
Peter Vanezis

9. Firearms and explosion injuries
Peter Vanezis

10. Forensic aspects of Asphyxia and drowning
Peter Vanezis

11. Forensic medical aspects of human rights issues
Peter Vanezis

12. Sexual offences
Philip Beh

13. Paediatric forensic medicine
Philip Beh and Peter Vanezis

14. Sudden natural death
Peter Vanezis

15. Heat, cold and electricity
Peter Vanezis

16. Diagnosing death and changes after death
Peter Vanezis

17. Identification – general principles including anthropology, fingerprints and the investigation of mass deaths
Peter Vanezis

18. Use of DNA in human identification
Denise Syndercombe-court

19. Forensic odontology and human identification
Philip Marsden

20. Crime and mental health/forensic psychiatry
Vivek Khosla and Orlando Trujillo-bueno

21. Maternal deaths
Mahomed Dada

22. The examination of detainees and death in custody
Peter Vanezis

23. Forensic toxicology: clinic-pathological aspects and medico-legal issues
Nadia Porpiglia, Chiara Laposata and Franco Tagliaro

24. Illicit drug use
Giovanni Serpelloni and Claudia Rimondo

Professor Peter Vanezis, MB, ChB, MD, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Forensic Medical Sciences and Former Director of Cameron Forensic Medical Sciences at Barts and the London, UK. Former Regius Professor of Forensic Medicine and Science, University of Glasgow. He is a Fellow of The Royal College of Pathologists, Fellow of Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow, Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine, and Fellow of the Chartered Society of Forensic Scientists. Peter Vanezis was awarded an OBE for Forensic Pathology Services in Kosovo.

Dr. Philip S.L. Beh is Clinical Associate Professor at the Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, China. He is involved in the review of cases involving death from accidents, suicides, and homicides. Dr. Beh works with many professional bodies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He is an Honorary Advisor to Rain-Lily, Hong Kong’s first multidisciplinary rape crisis center.