He joined as Lecturer at Dayanand Medical College and in no time I found out that he is an asset to the Department due to his updated knowledge in the subject. About three years ago he sought my advice about writing a Textbook of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology for MBBS students. The result is before us in the form of “Review of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.”

All the chapters are well written, easy to read and in simple English. Definitions are easily understood and wherever required examples have been given.

Chapter on Medico-legal Autopsy is also useful for all those Medical Officers who have to perform medico-legal autopsies and PG students of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. Chapters on “Injuries, Regional Injuries and Forensic Psychiatry” have been written in a very systematic manner and due consideration has been given to Medico-legal aspects of injuries. Forensic Psychiatry is totally updated as per the modern classification of mental illnesses. Subject of “Thanatology” has been dealt with as per latest trends giving examples. Latest status of unnatural sexual offences in other countries is quite relevant in modern times. Chapter on “Sexual Perversion” gives useful information. “DNA finger printing” —a highly technical subject will be useful for the students and forensic scientists. Detailed discussion in the Identification, Odontology and “Recent Advances” like Polygraph, Brain fingerprinting and narcoanalysis are quite informative for the undergraduate students of forensic and other specialties.

Chapters on Autopsy room infections, Postmortem Artefacts, Torture and Custodial Deaths and Asphyxial deaths are very apt and have made the book quite useful even for PG students of other subjects.

The chapters on toxicology are totally updated as per the current protocol and guidelines. Signs & symptoms and treatment have been given systematically which will be quite useful for the emergency medical practitioners also.

Lastly, the concept of MCQs from different PG entrance examinations given at the end of each chapter is quite innovative. This will be useful for the 2nd Professional students to grasp the subject better as well as for the students who are preparing for various PG entrance examinations.

I have every confidence that this book will receive warm welcome from the students especially the undergraduates. I wish this book every success which it admirably deserves.

Some topics (Identification, Injuries, Sexual Offences, Forensic Psychiatry and Toxicology) which are important from PG entrance point of view, are in more details. All topics are updated and recent advances/changes have been incorporated wherever needed.

Concise and lucid text (bullet's format), line-diagrams, boxes, tables, differentiations and flow charts given at appropriate places, are designed to make the book interesting to read, easy to comprehend, recollect and reproduce.

The information given in boxes is ‘desirable to know’, that a student may skip if there is shortage of time or if preparing for the professional examination. Rest of the information is ‘must know’, i.e. one should go through it definitely.

In (Toxicology), all the poisons are given in the same format throughout so that the student is able to understand and reproduce them during the examination. The section is up-to-date and some additional topics have been added for the PG entrance test.

Topic-wise MCQs are given at the end of most of the chapters. They are based on the recall of students who appeared in these exams, and will help the reader to get insight of that topic and prepare for the PG entrance. It will also make preparation for viva-voce easy and interesting for the student.

Appendices I and II give a list of important questions which the students should prepare for the Professional examination and are based on the latest MBBS curriculum prepared by Directorate General of Health Services and MCI. There are two categories—must know and desirable to know, the student may prepare according to the time he/she can devote to the subject.

It is my hope that this new book will find favorable response from medical students and also offer significant help to medical practitioners, in-service doctors and forensic scientists.

It has been my endeavor to keep the book error free; however there may be some typographical errors. If the reader comes across any such error, or wants to send any comment/suggestion, please do write or send an e-mail at the address given below. It will be duly acknowledged in the subsequent edition.

Incorporation of MCQs and expected long questions, short notes coupled with references in the text fulfils a long felt need of students preparing for undergraduate and various PG entrance examinations.

I recommend this book for all undergraduate and PG students and all those involved in medico-legal work for whom it will serve as ready reference.

This book covers briefly the important aspects of forensic medicine. Toxicology has been covered keeping in view the changed syllabus. I like the way it has been covered briefly for the benefits of the students. This book covers almost everything which undergraduate students should need to know.

It is easy for the students to understand from the suitably labeled diagrams. Frequent flow charts are another useful feature of this book which I think will help the students to grasp important information which is sometimes lost otherwise in the text.12

At the end of the chapters MCQs are given which gives this book an additional favorable feature for the students who wish to appear in the PG entrance examinations.

I think this book will be very valuable and handy to the undergraduate students of MBBS. As this book has avoided complex technicalities the book by Dr Biswas is likely to be useful to the advocates as well.

The only limitation of the book is absence of natural pictures and references at end of each chapter, but this is a common practice among majority of Indian writers.

However, Dr Gautam Biswas deserves all praise and congratulations for his maiden effort that will be useful not only to the 2nd professional students but also for all those appearing for PG entrance examinations and PG students in the specialty of Forensic Medicine.

Well begun is half done. The book although neither too exhaustive nor too concise is spread over sixty-three chapters exhibiting excellent writing skill. Written in a lucid style, using simple language, MCQ's and earmarking questions of importance is an additional feature of the manuscript brought forth by the young and dynamic medical teacher. I am sure the book shall become a textbook of choice for the medicos.

The subject matter is set out in chapters in a manner the student would like to go through even multiple times, if desired during preparation for professional examination. The information is up-to-date and is extensively illustrated along with tables, differentiations and flow charts making it a unique book in this category.

The special feature of this book are the MCQs along with answers put together from various PG entrance examinations which are given at the end of most of the chapters. It prepares the student for the forthcoming competitive examinations as well as helps him/her in viva-voce.13

I highly recommend this book for undergraduate students and those preparing for the PG entrance examinations. It will also serve a valuable resource for physicians needing a good working/functional knowledge in Forensic Medicine and Toxicology.

The book will not only serve the purpose of undergraduate medical students to the fullest extent but also be of great help to the postgraduate students of the subject. It will also act as a good referral book for those who practice medicine, law and are engaged in crucial investigation of criminal cases.

Since long, students needed a book which is simple, easy to read and retain, and at the same time, the course could be finished in a shortest possible time without confusing them. I found all these qualities in this book. MCQs after most of the chapters are like gems of chapter. Simple, sure and easy. A great initiative!

I am grateful to Maj. Gen. (Dr) Ajit Singh, former Head of Forensic Medicine, AFMC, Pune and DMCH for painstakingly proof-reading the manuscript, suggesting changes and writing the foreword.

I am highly grateful to Prof. Praveen C Sobti of Pediatrics, DMCH for proof-reading the whole text, fixing all the grammatical errors and advising sections that needed re-writing for clarity, despite having a very busy schedule and in a different specialty. Thank you madam, this book never would have been realized without your continuous support and encouragement.

Prof. Daljit Singh, Principal, DMCH, deserves special mention for his continuous encouragement and invaluable suggestions.

I am thankful to Prof. Jagjiv Sharma, Head of Forensic Medicine, CMC & Brown Hospital, Ludhiana and Prof. BR Sharma, Head of Forensic Medicine, GMC, Chandigarh for helping me with preparation of the manuscript and for their expert opinion.

I express my thanks to Dr Virender Pal Singh, Assistant Professor, Forensic Medicine, DMCH for proof-reading the manuscript and valuable suggestions. I also express my thanks to Dr Pardeep Singh, Assistant Professor, People Medical College, Bhopal and Dr Narinder Singh Bhatti, for their valuable suggestions.

I am indebted to Prof. BS Aulakh, Head, Transplant Unit, for the chapter on ‘Thanatology’, Prof. GS Bajwa, Head, Ophthalmology and Prof. Hemant Chopra, Head, Otolaryngology, DMCH, for the chapter on ‘Medico-legal aspects of injury’ and Dr. Rupesh Chowdhury, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, DMCH for the chapter on ‘Forensic Psychiatry’.

It will be an injustice if I do not thank all my students, especially Dr Sahil Gupta for their innovative ideas on how to enhance the book. I am grateful to Mr Ramesh Kumar for typing part of the manuscript.

I am especially grateful to all those working for Jaypee Brothers, in particular Shri Jitendar P Vij (Chairman and Managing Director) and Mr Tarun Duneja (Director-Publishing) for believing in this project, Mr KK Raman (Production Manager) for shaping up of this book. Mr Rakesh Verma (Graphic Designer) for making such beautiful line diagrams, Ms Seema Dogra for cover design and Mr Upinder Singh for typing this manuscript and making all the changes whenever I suggested, without any complaints.

I express my gratitude to my parents and in-laws for their constant encouragement, support and blessings. Above all, I acknowledge with gratitude the support of my wife Anupama and son to bear with me with patience and calm encouragement during the long hours of my involvement with the manuscript. I want to thank Anupama for her untiring support in writing this book.

Last but not the least, I wish to offer my apologies to all my colleagues and friends whose name has been omitted inadvertently, for without their constant support, encouragement and well wishes the book would not have been completed.