Forensic Medicine Development - Essay Example

Forensic Medicine Definition Forensic medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with the interpretation and establishment of medical facts in criminal or civil cases. Forensic science is also called forensic pathology, medical jurisprudence or legal medicine. Medical jurisprudence can be described as the science of applying the medical facts to problems in the field of law. Tasks involved are filling out death and birth certificates, making decisions on insurance eligibility, and the reporting of infectious diseases. The most important task in medical jurisprudence is the medical testimonies that are made in court. It entails relation with the observations and the doctors are the primary witnesses and they are required to give their opinions based on truth and without any bias towards the side they are representing. Medical confidentiality can raise conflicts between law and medicine (Forensic-Medecine.info, n.d.). Forensic medicine is an important area of forensic science and it involves the application of medical knowledge to civil and criminal law. The areas of medicine that are used in forensic medicine are pathology, psychiatry, and anatomy. Forensic medicine is involved in cases such as those concerning mental illness, blood relationship, death resulting from violence, and injury. Autopsy is basically used in the determination of the cause of death (such as poison or gunshot wound) specifically in situations where it is suspected there was foul play. Post-mortem examination can also provide important information such as the length of time a person has been dead (the information can assist in tracing the killing) (Forensic-Medecine.info, n.d.). Reason for the Study of Forensic Medicine Every minute a number of people are either injured in a crime or are killed under unknown circumstances. The determination of the cause of the injury or death is sometimes very difficult especially when a foul play is suspected to have happened. Forensic medicine has come in handy to assist in the investigation of the type of crime and manner used in inflicting injury and the cause of death. Forensic medicine is an exhilarating subject since it offers the investigator in this case a forensic pathologist to explore the mechanisms and manner of death of the victim in question. It has also assisted in solving rape cases and a number of court cases that involved the death of the victim in question. In simple times, forensic medicine can be equated to the application of medicine in the legal field. The History of Forensic Medicine The relationship between law and medicine started in the early periods and the bonds which united the two were superstition, magic, and religion. The law and medicine issues can be traced to written records in Egypt, India, China, Babylon, and Sumer; these records date back to 4000 and 3000 B.C. A Chinese materia medica that dates back to 3000 B.C. offers information regarding poisons. Imhotep of Egypt was the Grand Vizier, the chief physician and Chief Justice of King Zoser; he enacted medical practice rules and they were brought under the law in the 27th century B.C. (Health Signal, 2011). The oldest known medico-legal code in the history of forensic medicine is the Code of Hammurabi which was enacted by the King of Babylon in 2200 B.C. Hippocrates (from 460 to 377 B.C.) is the father of western medicine; he practiced and discussed wound lethality in Greece in the island of Kos. His contribution to the field of forensic medicine is enormous. The association of the Roman and the Greek medical men and jurists led to the development of forensic medicine principles (Health Signal, 2011). The first forensic medicine book was published by an Italian physician (Fortunato Fedele) in 1602. Paulus Zacchias, the principal physician to Alexander VII and Pope Innocent X and an expert in the Court of Appeal (Rota Romana) wrote medicolegal questions (Questiones Medicolegales); his work is considered the greatest. The books was published from 1621 to 1635 in 7 volumes and 2 additional volumes were published at Amsterdam in 1666. Paulus Zacchias is considered the Father of Forensic Psychiatry and Legal Medicine. In the 18th century, Germany became the pioneer of professorship in legal medicine. Orfila (1787 to 1853) was a professor of legal medicine and chemistry at Paris; he introduced into toxicology detailed chemical methods. The law in regard to the criminal responsibility of the insane people was introduced in England in the Mc Naughten’s case, it was introduced in 1843 (Health Signal, 2011). The Use and Importance of Forensic Medicine Forensic medicine is (important) used in the determination of the cause of death, the time death occurred, and the identification of the remains. This information permits the doctor to define the cause of death as suicide, murder or accident. The forensic pathologist makes a description of the condition of the body (if there is any decomposition) and consequently accesses the body for the cause of death; the pathologist also takes note of any abnormalities found in the tissues on the surface. The surface of the body is examined for the presence of trauma injuries (such as broken bones and bruises), thermal injuries (burns), defensive wounds, firearm injuries (such as gunshot wounds), or for stab or cut wounds. The internal examination of the body entails analysis of the isolated tissues (histology) and organs. The internal examination can reveal the lack of oxygen (asphyxia) or water in the lungs (drowning). Wide medical knowledge and great attention to detail are required in forensic medicine and in particular to areas of physiology and anatomy (eNotes.com, 2011). The role of forensic medicine in such a case is the death investigation; it is imperative to understand the death investigation systems development. Majority of the death investigation are basically administrative and they rely on the treating medical practitioner offering a death certificate. The death certificate issued provides information on what the doctor believes to have causes the death of the patient (Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, 2011). Criminal Cases in Forensic Medicine Two cases will be discussed and the cause of the death in one case is smothering and in the other case, the cause of the death is gagging. A newly married woman was found dead in her bathroom in 2007; a complaint raised by the parents of the deceased lady alleged that she was killed by the in-laws and the husband. The Police did investigations instituting sections 498A and 302 of the IPC. At the crime scene, the team that was investigating found nothing significant suggesting homicide. In-laws polygraph tests were not conclusive; poison was not detected in the victim’s viscera or blood. The report from histopathology showed there was viscera congestion in general with the oedema, and hemorrhage and congestion in the lungs. The post-mortem results showed the presence of abrasions on the bridge of the nose and on the left half of the lower lip. However, the case was referred to another board of doctors because the previous doctors could not precisely establish the cause of the death. The new board of doctors concluded that smothering was the cause of the death (Vij, 2011). On February 1999, Chowkidar was found dead; the police found his “hands tied at the back and legs tied about the middle with some cotton cloth” (Vij, 2011), the “… mouth was stuffed with a brown coloured monkey cap … which was secured by a red coloured muffler going tightly around the mouth, covering the nose too” (Vij, 2011). The investigations indicated that the victim was gagged to prevent him from escaping. Conclusion Forensic medicine is as old as the human existence; law and medicine have been used to offer solutions to the most complex cases where the cause of death of the patient is unknown. Forensic medicine is important because it is used in the determination of the cause of death, the time death occurred, and the identification of the remains. This information permits the doctor to define the cause of death as suicide, murder or accident. Forensic medicine is applied in both law and medicine to solve majority of the criminal cases involving death and foul play is suspected to have happened. An example of such a case is the killing of Chowkidar by gagging. References eNotes.com. (2011). World of forensic medicine. Retrieved from http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/medicine Forensic-Medecine.info. (n.d.). Forensic medicine. Retrieved from http://www.forensic-medecine.info/forensic-medicine.html Health Signal. (2011). History of forensic medicine. Retrieved from http://healthsignal.net/2011/04/history-of-forensic-medicine/ Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. (2011). The role of the coroner. Retrieved from http://www.vifm.org/forensics/medico-legal-death-investigation/the-role-of-the-coroner/ Vij, K. (2011). Textbook of forensic medicine and toxicology: Principles and practice, 5/e. New Delhi, India. Elsevier. Read More