The Science and Stories of Autopsy

Forensic medicine is the application of the principles and practice of medicine

to the needs of the law and the courts. It is one of the smallest recognisable

specialty disciplines in medicine with far fewer practitioners than the public

realise. Yet the performance of this small number of doctors has a

disproportionate impact on criminal justice systems. Forensic doctors are

involved in assessing most, if not all, serious violent crimes including murder,

rape and serious bodily harm. How these crimes are handled is a very visible

test of the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. If the forensic

medicine components are handled well, it is likely that over time the law will

come to handle these cases better