Biomedical Criminalistics & Medicolegal Death Investigation Systems

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions and roles within biomedical criminalistics and medicolegal death investigation systems.

Biomedical Criminalistics

A synthesis of multiple disciplines involved in answering questions of medical interest, most often associated with medicolegal death investigations but also applying to crimes without death, public health, estate settlement, and insurance claims.

ANSI/ASB Standard 125

The standard establishing that medicolegal death investigation systems are responsible for conducting death investigations and certifying the cause and manner of deaths in the United States and abroad.

Chief Medicolegal Officer

The medical examiner, coroner, justice of the peace, or other official who oversees the operation of a medicolegal death investigation office and/or system.

Coroner

An elected or appointed official whose duty is to oversee medicolegal death investigations, usually for a single county, and ensure certification of cause and manner of death.

Medical Examiner

An appointed forensic pathologist whose duty is to oversee medicolegal death investigations, perform postmortem examinations, and certify cause and manner of death.

Forensic Pathologist

A physician who is board-certified in anatomic pathology or anatomic and clinical pathology, as well as forensic pathology.

Forensic Pathology

The practice of medicine in which the principles of pathology are applied to problems of potential legal, public health, or public safety significance, commonly involving autopsies to determine cause and manner of death.

Medicolegal Death Investigator

An individual who acts on behalf of the medical examiner or coroner to investigate deaths, determine jurisdiction, assist with cause and manner determination, identify the decedent, notify next of kin, and secure personal property.

Unnatural and Unexplained Deaths

Categories of death under medicolegal jurisdiction including homicides, suicides, unintentional injuries, drug-related deaths, and sudden or unexpected disease-related deaths.

Texas Medicolegal System

A county-based system defined under Chapter 49 Code of Criminal Procedure, operating under either a Justice of the Peace (subchapter A) or a Medical Examiner (subchapter B).