Introduction to Forensic

Medicine and its role in the

administration of justice

Dr A Tay
 Forensic Medicine
The term Forensic Medicine means the
application of medical knowledge (all
branches of medicine including laboratory
examinations) for the administration of law
and justice
• Forensic” comes from the Latin word
“forensis” meaning forum.

• During the time of the Romans, a criminal

charge meant presenting the case before
a group of public individuals
 All the ‘Forensics’

• forensic pathology,
• forensic DNA tests,
• forensic toxicology,
• criminal toxicology,
• forensic autopsy
• Forensic entomology deals with the examination of insects in, on,
and around human remains to assist in determination of time or
location of death. It is also possible to determine if the body was
moved after death.
• Forensic meteorology is a site specific analysis of past weather
conditions for a point of loss
• Forensic geology deals with trace evidence in the form of soils,
minerals and petroleums
• Forensic odontology is the study of the uniqueness of dentition
better known as the study of teeth.
• Forensic photography is the art of producing an accurate
photographic reproduction of a crime scene for the benefit of a court.
• Forensic toxicology is the study of the effect of drugs and poisons
on/in the human body.
• Forensic firearms examination is the science dealing with the
investigation of use of firearms and ammunition
• The term Forensic Science means the
application of the knowledge of science for
the purposes of law and justice. The term
includes the application of all sciences
such as physics, chemistry, biology

• Almost all branches of science can help in

the administration of justice
• The term Clinical Forensic Medicine
involves an application of clinical methods
for the administration of justice.

e.g. battered baby

e.g.live rape victim
Forensic pathology

• It is the application of the knowledge of

pathology for the administration of justice.
• Post-mortem examinations, deducing the cause
of death by looking at the state of internal
organs, estimating the cause of death by doing
histo-pathology of internal organs, etc. involves
a thorough knowledge of pathology
 Medical Jurisprudence
• Medical jurisprudence means legal aspects of
practice of medicine.
• For instance, a physician while prescribing
medicines for his patients is guided by certain
rules and regulations.
• If he is negligent towards his patients, he may
have to face the law.
• All the rules and regulations which guide a
physician during his practice come under
medical jurisprudence
 Medical Ethics
• Medical ethics deal with the moral
principles which should guide members of
medical profession in their dealings with
one another, with their patients and with
their State. For instance a doctor is not
expected to refuse treatment to a patient
on religious grounds.
 Medical etiquette
• Medical etiquette deals with the conventional
laws and customs of courtesy observed between
members of the medical profession.
• For instance, a doctor is not expected to charge
for giving medical advice and/or medicines to
another doctor.
• He is also expected to see him out of turn. If he
follows these guidelines, he is said to have
observed proper medical etiquette
Case Study
 The autopsy
• Autopsy was done on the dead
body of the thirty years old
lady, who was noticed hanging
from the bough of a “keekar”
tree in a forest. The deceased
was a divorced lady.

• A shawl was tied around her

neck, which belonged to the
deceased.

• As a slip-noose was used,

ligature was in contact with the
skin throughout the full
circumference of the neck.
 The cause of Death
• There was mark of saliva dribbling
from the left angle of her mouth.
Except over the uppermost part of the
right side of the neck ligature mark
was faint and deficient on the back
and sides. It was believed to
correspond to the ligature material as
soft as shawl. There was evidence of
bruising on and around carotid vessels
on the right side.

• She had abrasions on the upper front

of her both legs and also over right
side lower outer front of the abdomen.
There was no bony injury in the air
passages like the fracture or
dislocation of the hyoid or thyroid
indicative of manual strangulation.

• Cause of death by all standards was

hanging.
 The missing earrings
• Doubt of homicide gained footings because father of the deceased
held that earrings, that the deceased was always wearing, were
missing from her ears. So much so the rumor of missing earring had
converted in to news of recovery and seemed to have reached
police ears while autopsy was going on.

• Police expected autopsy doctors to provide some vital clues

regarding the nature of hanging. Dismissing earrings based
homicide theory autopsy team apprised police, true her ears were
without any earring but there was no fresh or recent injury in her
ears.

• Ligature mark was believed to be the result of hanging, from a low

point, for little period and in such a position that her legs were
touching the ground. How could the body examination exclude that
she could not and did not hang herself still appeared mysterious to
the autopsy team
 The Recovery of new evidence
• Absence of earring in the ears of the
deceased was not given much credence
till it was recovered from the killers.

• Villagers handed over two boys to the

police who were found selling the earrings
of the deceased.
 The confession
• They confessed that one of them raped her. They then rendered her unconscious
during throttling.

• They also confessed of having created a scene of hanging. According to them in her
efforts to escape she even fell and sustained some injuries on the front of her legs.
Just because she removed her earrings herself to offer them for letting her go there
was no injury on her ears.

• They suspended her for two reasons. First they had doubt that she had not died and
was still alive. They were so skeptical about her death that even after hanging her,
one of them came back to the scene after sometime to make sure that she was really
dead.

• Another reason for hanging her, they told, was that they knew by creating a scene of
hanging, even if she was noticed no one would suspect them.

• A divorced young lady in the village would have several reasons to commit suicide.