The forensic medicine , one also called legal medicine , medical jurisprudence or legal medicine is the branch of medicine that applies all medical knowledge and biological necessary for solving the problems posed by the law . The coroner assists judges and courts in the administration of justice , determining the origin of the injuries suffered by an injured or cause of death by examining a corpse . Studies the medical aspects derived from the daily practice of the courts, where they act as experts . It is closely related to the medical law . The specialist in the area called the coroner or medical examiner.
Terminology
Commonly called medical examiner (of the forum : to be in ancient times in the forums or courts where this discipline was working), currently two schools are distinguished: the Latin school , where they are trained medical examiners, and the Anglo - Saxon school , where Forensic doctors are trained.
Scope
Medical examiners are trained to carry out multiple procedures, including:
- Feedback on professional responsibility , ie, whether his medical colleagues or not acted with due responsibility.
- Determination of the causes, mechanism and manner of death, when these are of violent origin.
- They assist in the administration of justice, assisting the judge to resolve doubts arising from the performance of medical and biological phenomena - when they are present - when an alleged criminal act is committed.
In the criminal investigation , acting coroner is essential. Go - together, or not - with the Coroners and Prosecutorial when it comes to the removal of the body after a suspicious death or violent crime; examines and collects external signs of scene, it determines the probable time of death and performs the autopsy of the corpse; Macroscopically examines the three cavities (cranial, thoracic and abdominal) and samples for referral to centers specializing in forensic sciences, laboratories.
Methodology
It is a science based on evidence, teaches and applies the Galilean method uses the Cartesian method , with which the call is formed expert method , which recommends: not admit as true what is not evidential or tested, ordering him from simple to The complex, and enumerating without omitting anything. All independently of the problem under study and analysis.