The American Heritage Medical Dictionary defines “forensic medicine as the branch of medicine that interprets or establishes the medical facts in civil or criminal law cases.” Another name for forensic medicine is legal medicine. Legal medicine refers to those in the medical field that work in forensics, such as physicians and nurses. Medical jurisprudence refers to lawyers like legal medicine references doctors. Essentially, forensic medicine provides the medical science evidence which supports law enforcement by helping to solve crimes and try cases in both the civil and criminal court system.
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid)
One way forensic medicine helps support the legal court system is in determining cases of paternity. Paternity cases are a result of someone questioning the biological origin or descent of another person. To determine paternity the people involved must submit a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sample which is usually in the form of a saliva swab from the inside of the mouth. Then the samples of DNA are sent to a forensics laboratory for comparison and to determine if the people in question are or are not genetically related. DNA is also used by law enforcement to solve violent crimes.
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)
When DNA is discovered during a crime scene investigation it is entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the National DNA Index System (NDIS). According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) website, “CODIS is the generic term used to describe the FBI’s program of support for criminal justice DNA databases as well as the software used to run these databases” and “NDIS is one part of CODIS—the national level—containing the DNA profiles contributed by federal, state, and local participating forensic laboratories”. The systems then look for a hit or match from the DNA.
Forensic pathology is the branch of forensic medicine that provides the physical evidence needed to determine how someone died. Usually, an autopsy is performed by a pathologist to determine the cause of death. A pathologist is a doctor of pathology who is trained in all aspects of the physical body to determine what caused the body to die. In addition to determining a cause of death, an autopsy can estimate fairly accurately how long the person has been deceased. Time of death is determined by studying the changes a body experiences after dying. An accurate time of death helps investigators know where to focus their investigation.
Sources:
- The American Heritage Medical Dictionary “Forensic Medicine Definition” (accessed February 23, 2011).
- The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation “Fact Sheet—CODIS and the National DNA Index System” (accessed February 27, 2011).
Erika Lyn Smith - Erika Lyn Smith - is a Psych RN, who has completed the UMSL Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Course, and is finishing a BS in ...
