Forensic Pathology
Written By: Isha Dave
Forensic pathologists are more commonly known as medical examiners and are in charge of inspecting bodies that have died suddenly, unexpectedly, or violently. Each state in the US has its own set of rules for what is considered a forensic case. Most countries have a chief medical examiner that is in charge of other medical examiners in the same county or city.
Forensic pathologists have major roles in mysterious deaths and are able to provide sufficient evidence for the motives and manners of the deaths. First, they are called to the crime scene to examine the body and determine the time of death. The body will later be transported to a morgue for further examination. A postmortem examination or an autopsy is then used to determine the cause and manner of death. In the autopsy, these pathologists will examine injury patterns, disease, or even poisoning. They can also use other specialties like toxicology, firearms, trace evidence, serology, and DNA technology to further the investigation. There are also a variety of other types of forensic specialties such as forensic toxicologists, forensic anthropologists, and entomologists that they can consult (Siegel, 2002). After an autopsy, forensic pathologists will work closely with criminal investigators to put together the death.
In all forensic cases, there must be a cause of death on the death certificate. The pathologist is in charge of determining whether it’s homicide, accident, suicide, natural causes, or undetermined.
Physicians who specialize in pathology during their 3–4-year residency will later become forensic pathologists with an additional year residency in forensic pathology. This adds about 4–5 years after medical school before they are able to become a certified forensic pathologist. In complicated death cases, it is easy to make mistakes in terms of determining the cause and manner of death. If the pathologist is incorrect, it’s considered a miscarriage of justice.
Unfortunately, in recent years there has been a decline in the number of forensic pathologists. As the US population grows 0.8% per year, there is an increase in autopsies needed. Meanwhile, the amount of these pathologists is decreasing 17% yearly (Melinek, 2019). Some solutions to this shortage of pathologists are changing the way autopsies are performed. Virtual autopsies can be performed using CT scanning when death is caused by a traumatic injury. There is now hope that new technologies will be used to replace old methods used in autopsies.
Sources
Forensic Pathologist. (n.d.). Retrieved July 08, 2020, from https://explorehealthcareers.org/career/forensic-science/forensic-pathologist/
MD, J. (2019, December 12). Dirty, Smelly, Raw: The Future of Forensic Pathology. Retrieved July 08, 2020, from https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/working-stiff/83802
Siegel, J. (2020, June 01). Forensic pathology. Retrieved July 01, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/science/forensic-science/Forensic-pathology
