- Forensic Medicine.

- Forensic Science :-

Application of knowledge of science (biology, chemistry, physics ,….etc) for  purposes of law and justice.(1)

- Forensic medicine (legal medicine) :-

 Is a branch of medicine that applies the principles and knowledge of
 the medical sciences for administration of law and  justice .(1)

- Forensic medicine is a medical science that studies :-

• Identification الإستعراف
• Somatic and Psychiatric injuries,
• Tanatology “ science of Death. ”
• Autopsy.
• Medical ethics أخلاق المهنة
• Forensic laboratory services)e.g Toxicology, Histopathology, Serology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, DNA laboratory, Medical Imagination and Radiology,Microbiology, Physical Technology)

- Forensic medical expert have to know medical sciences very well to use that in his final medical decisions.

- Characteristics of forensic medical expert:-

1- Caution; He must be accurate and precise in his result and decisions.
2- Intelligence; He must be a good observant.
3-Honesty and accuracy.
4-Good medical knowledge of all medical branches.
5- Well knowledge of criminal sciences and criminal law.
- The expert witness differs from the ordinary witness as he did not see or hear the incident in dispute (النزاع), he gives evidence of scientific fact and he gives an opinion based on professional knowledge and experience, though he may subsequently see the body, or the vehicle, or the instrument, or the scene.(2)


- The expert should explain that his evidences have scientific limitation , so the expert should be under an obligation(ملزم) to make sure that the court does not, unwittingly, use his evidence without realizing its scientific limitations.


- N.B:-The first ever medico-legal expert is considered to be “Imhotep” (1)

-Branches of forensic medical centre:-

• Clinics:-

to examine the somatic and psychiatric injuries, and to determinate the age of live people through clinical forensic & forensic psychiatric .

• Morgue(مشرحة) :- to perform autopsy.

• Laboratories:-

-Forensic Pathology:- To study histopathology samples.
-Forensic Medical Imagination and Radiology.
-Forensic Toxicological:-To investigate the poisons, and drugs of human samples.
-Forensic Immunological :- To investigate the biological traces ( blood, semen, saliva, hair,…etc) To determine the -blood system groups, and DNA fingerprint.
-Forensic Physical Technology :- To reconstruct the accidents, the crimes, the face features, the body features, traffic accidents, firearms, and falls from heights….. to study the fingerprints.

-References:-

• Forensic medicine ,Prof.Dr.Abd El-Aziz Ghanem,Mansoura, pp.(i-iii),(2.
• Expert Forensic Evidence, Alec Samuels, Medicine, Science and the Law, 1974,volume 14, pp. 17-25.