Forensic Medicine Vocabulary

Flashcards for reviewing key vocabulary terms related to forensic medicine, based on lecture notes.

Forensic Medicine Introduction

The science of criminal investigation relies on facts, without which it becomes a guessing game.

History of Forensic Medicine Origins

The oldest known official instructions about the external investigation of corpses, dating back to the Ching-dynasty (~2000 BC) in ancient China.

Earliest Forensic Dissections

Took place in Italy, probably in the middle of the thirteenth century, at the University of Bologna.

Early Medical-Legal Investigation

Limited to an external inspection of the dead body.

Codes of sixteenth century Europe

The Bamberg Code in 1507, the Caroline Code in 1532 and later the Theresian Code in 1769.

Main Emphasis of Medico-Legal Autopsy

The detection and investigation of criminal and other unnatural or unexpected deaths.

Autopsies' Contribution

Contributed to the advancement of pathology.

Clinical Autopsy Advancement

Improved autopsy methods introduced by Carl von Rokitansky (1804–1878) and Rudolf Virchow (1821–1902) and by modern concepts of the pathogenesis of disease.

Commission conclusion on Azzolino degli Onesti death

Excess of blood that gathered in the large vein referred to as the venae cavae and in the veins of the liver.

Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS)

The obstruction of the hepatic venous outflow.

Forensic pathology

A branch of medicine that applies the principles and knowledge of the medical sciences to problems in the field of law.

Necropsy

The investigative dissection of a dead body

Major Duties of a Medicolegal System

Determine the cause and manner of death, identify the deceased, determine the time of death and injury, collect evidence from the body.

Medico-Legal or Forensic Autopsy

Performed on the instructions of the legal authority responsible for the investigation of sudden, suspicious, obscure, unnatural, litigious, or criminal deaths.

Cause of Death

Any injury or disease that produces a physiological derangement in the body that results in the death of the individual.

Mechanism of Death

The physiological derangement produced by the cause of death that results in death.

Manner of Death

Explains how the cause of death came about.

Manner of Death Classifications

Natural, Homicide, Suicide, Accident, Undetermined, Unclassified.

The Undetermined Manner of Death

Insufficient information about the circumstances surrounding the death to make a determination, or when the cause of death is unknown.

"Unclassified" Manner Of Death

A death in which the cause and circumstances are known, but the death does not readily fall into any of the aforementioned categories.

Forensic Criminalistics

Involves forensic issues related to criminal cases.

Civil Forensic Medicine

Pertains to forensic matters in civil cases.

Military Forensic Medicine

Focuses on forensic issues specific to the military.

Review Distinguishing and Determining

Cause of Death, Manner of Death, Mechanism of Death.

Cause of Death:

The specific medical reason leading to death (e.g., heart attack, gunshot wound, asphyxiation).

Manner of Death:

The classification of death based on circumstances, typically categorized as natural, accidental, suicidal, homicidal, or undetermined.

Mechanism of Death:

The physiological process or chain of events leading to death (e.g., hypovolemic shock due to severe blood loss from a stab wound).