Annotation
Subject: Forensic Medicine Form: clerkship 1 week.
Main topics: 1. Introduction. 2. Forensic pathomorphology. 3. Forensic traumatology. 4. Forensic toxicology. ad 1) Medical secrecy - obligatory reticence and other duties following from Law 20/1966 Sb. (Law on care of peoples' health with changes and accessories made by enactments of Czech National Council Nr. 210/1990 Sb., 425/1990 Sb. and 548/1991 Sb). Forensic Medicine as scientific discipline, research and exploratory trends in forensic medicine; conception of medico-legal services. ad2) examination of dead bodies and scene of death (according to enactment Nr. 19/1988 Sb.), autopsies of dead persons with emphasis to diagnostics of early pathomorphologic changes, autopsies of violent deceased persons with emphasis to the vital reaction and timing of injury; basics of identification, application of histochemical, immunohistochemical, immunochemical methods including macroreaction. ad3) most important types of violence, homicide, suicide, accident; most important mechanisms of injury; bodily harm: minute injury, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm; compensation for pain and social exercise. Medical failure. ad4) basics of toxicological analysis including necroptic material, investigation of ethanol, sampling of material for toxicological examination, most important intoxications.
Main topics: 1st day: Introduction to Forensic Medicine (FM) and main law enactments:
History of Forensic Medicine. Organization of Forensic Medicine in Czech Republic and in different European countries. Main objectives of Forensic Medicine in Czech Republic. Organization of courts, state attorneys and basics of crime investigation. Medical secrecy. The role of physician in civil and penal procedures. Medical negligence and medical responsibility. Eyewitness and expert witness. Bodily harm from medico-legal point of view (minute injury, actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm). Medical opinion. Main principles in compensation of pain and permanent consequences. 2nd day: Examination of scene of death (the diagnosis of death, duties of physician on the scene of death). Post-mortem changes (early and belated). Importance of post-mortem changes for cause of death estimation. Timing of death. Vital reaction.
Natural death and its pathomorphology. Medico-legal autopsy. Autopsy report. Medico-legal autopsy diagnosis. 3rd day: Toxicology: poison, definition of poison, the metabolism of poisons. Basics of toxicological analysis of samples. Alcohol and its proof. 4th day: Violent death and forensic traumatology. Different types of violence and their morphology. Trauma to specific parts of body. 5th day: Basics of laboratory methods in forensic medicine: molecular biology and immunohistochemistry methods in the diagnosis of sudden death, analysis of spot of biologic origin. Identification of unknown persons: methods in identification - sources of information, biometrics, forensic anthropology, forensic DNA analysis, forensic odontology, disaster victim identification (DVI) teams.
Students take part in demonstration of autopsy findings in autopsy room every day.