Mason’s Forensic Medicine and the Law

Description

Blank Foreword Foreword Preface to the Seventh Edition Preface to the First Edition Table of Statutes Table of Statutory Instruments Table of Cases Part 1 Introduction to Forensic Medicine 1 Introduction to human anatomy and physiology Medicine: an introduction to terms Anatomical matters Anatomical divisions and susceptibility Cellular structures Cardiovascular system Controlling bleeding: the haemostatic system Haematological system Respiratory system Nervous system Gastro-intestinal system Urinary system Reproductive system Endocrine system Musculoskeletal system Skin 2 An introduction to clinical medicine and clinical investigation Regulation The clinical method Medical records Medical career structures Glossary 3 The autopsy Prior to the autopsy examination Scene examination and the pathologist The autopsy examination The forensic autopsy The report Autopsy radiology The second autopsy Exhumations Cremated remains Further reading material 4 The pathology of death What is death? Changes to the body shortly after death Time of death in the early post-mortem period Changes to the body associated with increasing post-mortem interval Problem areas: post-mortem artefacts and injuries Further reading material 5 Sudden natural death Cardiac causes of sudden death: coronary artery disease/ischaemic heart disease Role of stress – physical or otherwise Other cardiac causes of sudden death Non-cardiac causes of sudden death Further reading material Part 2 Injuries and Other Relevant Conditions 6 Wounding: injuries and their interpretation Wounding and the criminal law: England and Wales and Northern Ireland Wounding and the criminal law: Scotland Wounding and medicine: phraseology and overview Further reading material 7 Ballistics: injury and death due to firearms Firearms and the law Firearms Determination of the manner of discharge Post-mortem examination Examination of suspects Further reading material 8 Adult head injury and other brain pathology Approach to the examination in head injury cases Injuries to the scalp/face Skull fractures Intracranial haematomas (bleeding within the skull cavity including the brain) Traumatic axonal injury Brain swelling Cerebral oedema Chronic traumatic encephalopathy Sudden death in head injury Coma Long-term effects of head injury Brain death Permanent vegetative state Natural intracerebral haemorrhage Intracerebral haemorrhage – other causes Further rare causes of intracerebral haemorrhage Disorders of blood flow and/or lack of oxygen to the brain including stroke Meningitis Cerebral abscess Encephalitis Covid-19 Dementias Alzheimer’s disease Vascular dementia Iatrogenic pathology Further reading material 9 Major blunt impact trauma: road traffic collisions and falls Introduction The law and road traffic collisions Road traffic collisions including pedestrian deaths Aircraft injuries and their investigation Falls from a height The relationship between natural disease and accidents Fat embolism Deep vein thrombosis Further reading material 10 Asphyxia, pressure to the neck and similar entities Legal aspects Pressure to the neck The ‘asphyxial’ signs Injuries to the neck in manual strangulation Injuries to the neck in ligature strangulation Self-strangulation Arm locks Hanging Mechanism of death in cases of pressure to the neck Problem areas in cases of pressure to the neck Restriction of chest movements/crush asphyxia The other ‘asphyxias’ Special types of deaths: autoerotic deaths Further reading material 11 Drowning and hypothermia Immersion deaths Signs of immersion Deaths from drowning Features of drowning Difference between fresh water and salt water drowning So-called ‘dry drowning’ Other findings of immersed bodies Natural death in water Diagnosis of drowning Delayed death from drowning Problem areas of bodies in water Hypothermia Physical injury due to cold Post-mortem freezing Problem areas of a hypothermic death Further reading material 12 Heat, fire and electricity Legal aspects Burns Electricity Lightning Fire Smoke Carbon monoxide Hydrogen cyanide and other gases Survivors of fires Immolation Heat stroke Explosions Further reading material 13 Child injuries and deaths The law ‘Sudden infant death syndrome’, ‘sudden unexpected death in infancy’ and ‘unascertained’ Suffocation Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy or Fictitious Illness by Proxy Stillbirth Accidental death in childhood Non-accidental injury (NAI)/child abuse Head injury in the young Thoraco-abdominal trauma Starvation and neglect Conclusion Further reading material 14 Sexual assaults Sexual offences in adults Sexual offences against children and young people Further reading material Part 3 Allied Forensic Disciplines 15 Forensic psychiatry Introduction Psychiatry and psychology Psychiatric report writing Range and classification of psychiatric disorders Psychiatric disorders and common medico-legal presentations The relationship between mental disorder and offending The criminal justice system and mentally disordered offenders Further reading material 16 Forensic odontology Introduction Basic dental anatomy Dental identification of the deceased Retrieval of dental records Post-mortem dental examination Dental reconciliation Bite mark analysis and comparison Dental age estimation of the living Further reading material 17 Forensic toxicology Principles of forensic toxicology Legal aspects An overview of forensic toxicology Techniques in forensic toxicology Alcohol Drugs of abuse Medicinal drugs Interpretation of toxicology findings Further reading material 18 Introduction to forensic science and crime scene analysis Locard’s Principle Validation Accreditation Regulation Initial scene capture Trace evidence Forensic blood pattern analysis DNA Further reading material Part 4 Forensic Medicine and the Legal System 19 Criminal justice in the United Kingdom Introduction: the United Kingdom’s criminal justice systems Investigation Prosecution Trial Appeal Funding Further reading material 20 Coroners’ courts and fatal accident inquiries Introduction England and Wales Northern Ireland Scotland Further reading material 21 Deaths in state settings Introduction The legal viewpoint The pathological viewpoint Further reading material 22 Care of detainees Introduction Initial assessment in custody Provision of healthcare in custody Specific functions of healthcare professionals Medical assessment of the detainee Common medical problems Mental health Intellectual disabilities Substance misuse Prescribing in custody Fitness for interview Appropriate adults Terrorism Act detainees Intimate searches Fitness for release Deaths in police custody 23 Role and duties of the expert Admissibility Objectivity Procedure Content of expert reports Duties Tips for experts writing reports Tips for experts giving oral evidence Tips for lawyers Further reading material Appendix A Aguide to medical terminology Prepositional prefixes Some suffixes Anatomic prefixes Appendix B Medical and dental qualifications in the United Kingdom Primary medical qualifications Historic medical qualifications Postgraduate medical degrees Membership of the Royal Colleges and Faculties Postgraduate medical diplomas Dental qualifications Index