Assess The Role Of The Forensic Pathologist
According to ‘Victorian institute of forensic medicine (Unknown)’, the role of the forensic pathologist is to assist the coroners, the police and courts to resolve any medical issues deemed critical. This includes causes of death, the circumstances on how the victim had died and how the injuries were caused. The pathologist focuses their work on deceased people. The examination of a dead body focuses on review of medical histories, external examination and CT scans. Sometimes internal examinations are performed to help determine a cause of death. The pathologist can be helped in a wide range of forensic science services such as toxicology, DNA testing and microbiology. In a larger view the pathologist’s role is focused on public health.
According
to ‘Explore forensics (2015)’, estimating time of death for the deceased is a vital part for a pathologist when he arrives at a scene or at a pathology lab to conduct an autopsy. Time of death can be put three ways:
• Physiological time of death: Point at which bodies vital organs ceased to function.
• Estimated time of death: A guess based on information.
• Legal time of death: The time at which the body was discovered or pronounced dead by an individual.
One method of estimating time of death is to measure the body temperature of the corpse. The equation to measure the temperature is: 37.5°C – 1.5°C. The formula will show the body temperature which will lose 1.5°C until the temperature of the body becomes the same as the environment.
According to ‘Explore forensics (2015)’, determining cause of death is an important task a pathologist can perform during the course of an autopsy.
In terms of legality it is a necessity for law enforcement to be able to prove beyond any doubt that the victim/deceased has died of any other means other than natural causes. When a deceased is found at a location, was that where they were found, was that where they would normally be? Are there any injuries that show anything that would have cause an unnatural death? What caused them? (If present).
According to ‘Crime Museum’, mechanism of death is a physiological derangement that results in a death. An example of a mechanism is a gunshot wound described. Manner of death can be classified in six ways: Natural death, accidental death, suicidal death, homicide, undetermined death and pending death.
According
to ‘Explore forensics (2015)’, estimating time of death for the deceased is a vital part for a pathologist when he arrives at a scene or at a pathology lab to conduct an autopsy. Time of death can be put three ways:
• Physiological time of death: Point at which bodies vital organs ceased to function.
• Estimated time of death: A guess based on information.
• Legal time of death: The time at which the body was discovered or pronounced dead by an individual.
One method of estimating time of death is to measure the body temperature of the corpse. The equation to measure the temperature is: 37.5°C – 1.5°C. The formula will show the body temperature which will lose 1.5°C until the temperature of the body becomes the same as the environment.
According to ‘Explore forensics (2015)’, determining cause of death is an important task a pathologist can perform during the course of an autopsy.
In terms of legality it is a necessity for law enforcement to be able to prove beyond any doubt that the victim/deceased has died of any other means other than natural causes. When a deceased is found at a location, was that where they were found, was that where they would normally be? Are there any injuries that show anything that would have cause an unnatural death? What caused them? (If present).
According to ‘Crime Museum’, mechanism of death is a physiological derangement that results in a death. An example of a mechanism is a gunshot wound described. Manner of death can be classified in six ways: Natural death, accidental death, suicidal death, homicide, undetermined death and pending death.