Medical jurisprudence
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Medical jurisprudence or legal medicine is the branch of
Forensic medicine, which includes forensic pathology, is a narrower frontline field which involves the collection, documentation, analysis and presentation of objective information (medical evidence) for use in the legal system.[3]
When investigating a death, forensic pathologists:
- perform autopsies when required
- may be appointed as coroners to investigate cases of suspicious death
- determine the cause of death and all other factors that relate to the body directly
- may attend crime scenes
- frequently testify in court.[4]
The Australian Museum shows in a step by step virtual demonstration what happens during an autopsy procedure.[5]
History
Song Ci (1186–1249) was probably the first forensic scientist. He recorded all the known forensic techniques at the time in his book known as the Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified.
Medical jurisprudence had a chair founded at the
In the
In the United Kingdom, the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine was established as a Faculty of the Royal College of Physicians in 2006 to develop and maintain the highest possible standards of competence and professional integrity in forensic and legal medicine. The specialty covers professionals working in three related disciplines: forensic medical practitioners (forensic physicians, forensic pathologists, sexual assault examiners, and child physical and sexual assault examiners); medico-legal advisers; and medically qualified coroners.[14]
Scope
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Medical jurisprudence is concerned with a broad range of medical, legal, and ethical issues, as well as
Physicians have a duty to act in their patients best interest and can be charged in a court of law if they fail to do so. On the other hand, a physician may be required to act in the interest of third parties if his patient is a danger to others. Failure to do so may lead to legal action against the physician.
Medical jurisprudence includes:
- questions of the legal and ethical duties of physicians;
- questions affecting the civil
Under the second heading, there are many aspects, including:
- questions of competence or sanity in civil or criminal proceedings;
- questions of competence of minors in matters affecting their own health; and,
- questions of lawful fitness or safety to drive a motor vehicle, pilot an aeroplane, use scuba gear, play certain sports, or to join certain occupations.
Under the third heading, there are also many aspects, including:
- assessment of illness or injuries that may be work-related (see workers' compensation or occupational safety and health) or otherwise compensable;
- assessment of injuries of minors that may relate to neglect or abuse; and,
- certification of death or else the assessment of possible causes of death. This, however, is the more commonly understood, albeit narrow, meaning of forensic medicine.
See also
- Criminal investigation
- Criminal psychology
- Nerio Rojas, Argentine physician and forensic medicine author
Bibliography
- Ferllini, R. "Silent witness". Grange 2007.
- Saukko, P.; Knight, B. "Knight’s forensic pathology". CRC Press/Taylor & Francis Group 2016.
References
- ^ Theodric Romeyn Beck and William Dunloop. (1825.) Elements of Medical Jurisprudence, 2 ed., Oxford University Press.
- ^ James C. Mohr. (1993.) Doctors and the Law: Medical Jurisprudence in Nineteenth-Century America, Oxford University Press, New York City.
- ^ Alfred Swaine Taylor and Frederick John Smith (ed.). (1920.) Taylor's Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence, 7 ed., Taylor & Francis. (1873 edition)
- ^ "Medical".
- ^ "Virtual autopsy".
- ^ "Andreas Vesalius - Advances in medical knowledge – WJEC - GCSE History Revision - WJEC". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ "Autopsy | History, Procedure, Purposes, & Facts | Britannica".
- ISBN 9004131809.
- ^ Medico-Legal Society of New York (1885). The Medico-legal journal, Volume 2. Medico-Legal Journal Association.
- ^ JAMA.: The Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 38. American Medical Association, HighWire Press. 1902. p. 618.
- ^ Northwestern lancet, Volume 18. 1898.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8213. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Forensic medicine | Definition & Facts | Britannica".
- ^ "Faculties of the Royal College of Physicians". 25 February 2020.
External links
Media related to Forensic medicine at Wikimedia Commons
