This course is designed for students taking Medical Laboratory Sciences. It covers definition and history of forensic medicine, legal issues, and methods used in Forensic Medicine.

DESCRIPTION

Introduction to forensic medicine. Branches of forensic medicine, Impressions, Trace evidence, and Finger prints. Injuries, Forensic serology, Blood grouping, Blood stain characterization, crime scene and blood. Firearms identification and ballistics, Paternity testing, Sexual offenses, Semen identification, Deaths, Rigor mortis, Test to identifying drowning, and post mortem biochemical examination of the body fluid and tissue. There will be two-hour lectures a week.

 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Identify injury patterns
2. Collect trace evidence
3. Identify, examine and prepare report or certificate in medico-legal cases/situations in accordance with the law of land.
4. Perform medico-legal postmortem examination and interpret autopsy findings and results of other relevant investigations to logically conclude the cause, manner and time since death.
5. Describe the medical ethics, etiquette, duties, rights, medical negligence and legal responsibilities of the physicians towards patients, profession, society, state and humanity at large.
6. Describe relevant legal/court procedures applicable to the medicolegal/medical practice.
7. Preserve and dispatch specimens in medico-legal/postmortem cases and other concerned materials to the appropriate Government agencies for necessary examination.
8. Discuss medico-legal implications, diagnosis and principles of therapy of common poisons.
9. Describe the general principles of environmental, occupational and preventive aspects of toxicology.

 COURSE CONTENT

1. Definition of Forensic Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence.
2. Medical certification and medico-legal reports including dying declaration.
3. Death:

a) Definition, types; somatic, cellular and brain-death.

b) Sudden natural and unnatural deaths.

c) Suspended animation.

4. Changes after death:

a) Immediate changes, cooling of body, lividity, rigor mortis, cadaveric spasm, cold stiffening and heat stiffening.

b) Putrefaction, mummification, adipocere and maceration.

c) Postmortem artifacts.

5. Identification:

a) Definition

b) Identification of unknown person, dead bodies and remains of a person by age, sex, stature, dental examination, scars, moles, tattoos, dactylography, DNA typing and personal belonging including photographs.

6. Medico-legal autopsies:

a) Definitions of medico-legal and clinical/pathological autopsies.

b) Objectives, procedures, formalities of medico-legal autopsies.

c) Preservation of articles of importance, during autopsy.

d) Preservation of body fluids & viscera in suspected poisoning.

7. Mechanical injuries or wounds:

a) Definition, classification of mechanical injuries; description of blunt force, sharp force and firearm injuries.

b) Medico-legal aspects of injuries, differences between antemortem and post-mortem injuries, estimation of age of different types of injuries, defence injuries, hesitation cuts; fabricated injuries; simple and grievous hurt, suicidal/accidental/homicidal injuries; causes of death by mechanical injuries. Identification of injuries by torture.

8. Injuries due to physical agents and their medico-legal importance; cold, heat, electricity and lightning, explosions and radioactive substances.
9. Asphyxial deaths: Definition, causes, types, post-mortem appearances and medico-legal significance of hanging, strangulation, suffocation and drowning.
10. Sexual Offences: Virginity, rape, unnatural sexual offences; sexual perversions.
11. Criminal abortion, Medical Termination of Pregnancy, 1971.
12. Infant and childhood deaths: Viability, determination of age of foetus, live birth, still birth and dead born child, sudden infant death syndrome, child abuse, medico-legal aspects of precipitate labour.  

COURSE MATERIALS AND RESOURCES TEXTBOOKS

            Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research    

                              methods. Sage.

Ramsland, K.  A writer’s Guide to Forensic Psychology; Writer’s Digest book,

                              2002

            Scott S., The return of the Black Death:  The World’s greatest Serial Killer. 

                              John Wiley and Sons Ltd. 2004.

            Reder, P. and Lucey C.,    Assessment of Parenting:  Psychiatric and

                              Psychological contributions.  Imprint of Taylor and Francis Books

                              Ltd.

             Craissati, J., Managing High Rate Sex Offences in the Community:  A

                              Psychological Approach.

 

 Saferstein, R. 2011. Criminalists: An Introduction to Forensic Science. Prentice Hall Publishers. ISBN-13: 9780135045206.

Brenner, J.C. 2002. Forensic science glossary. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press LLC. [Online]. Available: {http://www.forensicnetbase.com/books/656/cr1196fm.pdf} [January 14, 2012].

Carpenter, R. S. Forensic Science Resources. [Online]. Available: http://www.tncrimlaw.com/forensic/. [January 14, 2012].

Document Examination Consultants, Inc. Selecting a Forensic Document Examiner. [Online]. Available: {http://www3.sympatico.ca/lindblom.doc.exam/selecting/selecting.html}. [January 14, 2012].

Flanagan, R.J. 1998. Guidelines for the interpretation of analytical toxicology results and unit of measurement conversion factors. Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, 35: 261-7.[Online]. Available: {http://www.leeds.ac.uk/acb/annals/Webwise/Webwise97-1.html}. [April 14, 2003].

Inman, K. and Rudin, N. 2002. An Introduction to Forensic DNA Analysis, 2nd edition. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press LLC.

Principles & Practice of Criminalistics: The Profession of Forensic Science. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press LLC.

Killoran, K.B. 1996. Forensic science: A library research guide. Reference Services Review, Winter: 15-30.

Nash, M.R. and Faraino, R.L. 1999. Internet resources in legal medicine and forensic science. Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 18(1): 59-68.