Bangladesh-Focused MBBS Forensic Medicine SOE Guide

A comprehensive vocabulary review of core terms and definitions from the Bangladesh-focused MBBS Forensic Medicine SOE study materials.

Forensic Medicine

The application of medical knowledge to the administration of justice.

Medical Jurisprudence

The legal principles relating to medical practice, professional duties, rights, and liabilities.

Clinical Forensic Medicine

The examination and management of living persons in matters with legal relevance, such as assault, sexual violence, intoxication, age estimation, and documentation of injuries.

Medical Etiquette

Courteous and appropriate professional behaviour observed among medical practitioners.

Privileged Communication

A good-faith disclosure made by a doctor to an appropriate authority to protect a legitimate interest or meet a legal duty.

Inquest

An investigation that examines the apparent circumstances and injuries surrounding a death, which is distinct from a medical autopsy.

Dying Declaration

A statement made by a person about the cause or circumstances of their death where the statement becomes relevant under evidence law.

Dying Deposition

A formal statement recorded under judicial procedure, generally with legal safeguards and the opportunity for cross-examination.

Somatic Death

The irreversible cessation of integrated vital bodily functions, also termed systemic death.

Cellular Death

The progressive death of individual cells and tissues occurring after systemic or somatic death.

Brain-Stem Death

The irreversible loss of brain-stem function meeting accepted clinical and legal criteria.

Obscure Autopsy

An autopsy in which no definite cause of death is found despite a complete postmortem examination.

Virchow Method

An organ removal technique during autopsy where organs are removed and examined individually.

Rokitansky Method

An evisceration technique where organs are examined largely in situ with limited removal.

Ghon Method

An evisceration method where organs are removed in distinct organ-system blocks.

Letulle Method

An evisceration technique in which thoracic, cervical, abdominal, and pelvic organs are removed en masse.

Rigor Mortis

Postmortem muscular stiffening caused by ATP depletion and actin-myosin fixation.

Livor Mortis

The dependent settling of intravascular blood after death, resulting in purplish discoloration of tissues.

Autolysis

The breakdown and self-digestion of body tissues brought about by endogenous enzymes.

Putrefaction

Bacterial decomposition of tissue accompanied by discoloration, gas formation, marbling, bloating, and breakdown.

Exhumation

The lawful disinterment of a buried body for medico-legal examination, identification, or further investigation.

Asphyxia

A condition caused by impaired oxygen delivery or utilisation leading to hypoxia, hypercapnia, and potentially death.

Hanging

Neck compression produced by a ligature tightened entirely or partially by the weight of the body.

Strangulation

Compression of the neck caused by an external force other than the suspended body weight acting through a ligature.

Choking

Airway obstruction caused by a foreign body, frequently food.

Drowning

Respiratory impairment resulting from submersion or immersion in a liquid medium.

Traumatic Asphyxia

A form of asphyxia occurring when external compression of the chest or abdomen prevents ventilation and venous return.

Immersion Syndrome

Sudden collapse or death associated with immersion in fluid, sometimes attributed to cold shock, autonomic reflexes, or cardiac arrhythmias.

Vagal Inhibition

A proposed sudden cardioinhibitory reflex triggered by stimulation of sensitive reflexogenous regions; regarded as a diagnosis of exclusion.

Secondary Impact Injury

An injury sustained when a moving person or body strikes a second surface after the primary impact.

Defence Wounds

Injuries sustained by a victim while attempting to ward off or protect against an attack, typically seen on the hands, fingers, or forearms.

Abrasion

Superficial loss of the epidermis caused by friction or pressure.

Laceration

A wound produced by tearing of tissue by blunt force, classically exhibiting tissue bridges and bruised margins.

Incised Wound

A sharp-force injury whose surface length along the skin exceeds its depth.

Stab Wound

A sharp-force wound caused by a pointed weapon where the depth of penetration exceeds the length of the surface cut.

Slash Wound

A long, relatively superficial cut produced by a sweeping movement of a sharp-edged instrument.

Dactylography

The study and comparison of friction-ridge patterns of the fingers for individual identification.

Cheiloscopy

The study of lip grooves and prints, sometimes utilised as supportive forensic evidence.

Haase’s Rule

An empirical formula for estimating fetal age where crown-heel length in cm is approximately equal to the square of age in lunar months during earlier months of gestation.

Superfecundation

The fertilisation of two ova belonging to the same ovulatory cycle by spermatozoa from separate acts of coitus.

Lucid Interval

A period of apparent mental recovery or consciousness occurring between an initial loss of consciousness and subsequent deterioration, classically seen in extradural haemorrhage.

Conduct Money

A sum of money paid to a witness to cover necessary travel and subsistence expenses for attending court.

Euthanasia

An intentional action undertaken to end a person's life specifically to relieve intractable suffering.

Sex Chromatin

A condensed, inactive X chromosome (Barr body) visible in the nuclei of certain somatic cells of individuals with more than one X chromosome.