Forensic medicine is a branch of medical science (other branches, e.g. anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, medicine, pediatrics, surgery, etc.) which deals with application of medical knowledge to assist law for the administration of justice. So it's all about justice ‘the greatest expression of love and humanity’. When we stand as a witness before the honorable judge we proceed with oath “I swear by the almighty God, that in this evidence I shall tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”. We can understand from the oath itself that this is all about truth and not merely about the findings which we have recorded while practicing medicine. Truth is something which is beyond our findings. It may be an opinion which is drawn from the findings based on our knowledge and experience. Hence to assist law for administration of justice we must have tools of knowledge and experience.4
MORBID FORENSIC MEDICINE
This branch of forensic medicine deals with dead bodies, human remains and autopsies. It is advisable to every medical student to participate or assist the residents or teachers of forensic medicine in autopsies in their undergraduate teaching program and internship. It is not just to learn forensic medicine but to learn about the human body. The body for autopsy is absolutely different from what we might have dissected in anatomy. It is not fixed by any chemical; it is exactly like a live body, but without life. It is essential to know how the heart feels in our hand; how an atherosclerotic plaque feels; how the crepitus of lung feels; how the firmness of a liver or spleen and softness of the brain feels; how the sections of a injured brain look, whether they are similar to the CT scan of head of the same person in life, etc.
This branch basically deals with application of medical knowledge to infer cause, mode, manner and mechanism of death. It also deals with matters related with identity and time since death. These are the matters in which law agencies, investigating agencies, statisticians for research, judiciary, and agencies for compensation have keen interest. Hence meticulous recording of the findings and their interpretation are demanded. This is also helpful to 5the medical practitioner in the witness box for answering both the counsels and remaining a man of science.
The second important part of this branch is preservation of samples for the required investigations, e.g. chemical analysis, toxicological analysis, biological study, biochemical analysis, histological study, ballistic study, entomological study, botanical study, etc.
The medical practitioner who is conducting autopsy must not only be concerned with the dead body but he must give thought to the mourners. In a country like India where people of different religions, castes and tribes live, the medical practitioner is supposed to give thought to their belief and practices of last rituals. The unnecessary delay in autopsy must be avoided and mourners must be relieved as early as possible.