JaypeeDigital | eBook Reader

Recent Advances in Forensic Medicine & Toxicology (Volume 1) Gautam Biswas

I: MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE
1:Medicolegal Issues in Consent
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITION
- HISTORY
- TYPES OF CONSENT
- DOCTRINE OF INFORMED CONSENT
- REASONS FOR OBTAINING CONSENT
- INFORMED FINANCIAL/ECONOMIC CONSENT
- RIGHT TO REFUSE
- CONSENTING AGE
  - Global Scenario
- HOW MUCH INFORMATION IS ADEQUATE?
- GUIDELINES FOR CONSENT
- INFORMED CONSENT RELATED TO MEDICOLEGAL CASES
- CONSENT FORM
- COMMON MEDICOLEGAL SITUATIONS
- CONCLUSION
2:Medical Ethics and Negligence Cases in India
- INTRODUCTION
- MAGNITUDE OF PROBLEM
  - Fatal Errors1,2
  - Death due to Medical Negligence1
- NEGLIGENCE AS A TORT
  - Essential Components of Medical Negligence
  - Negligence as Tort and as Crime
- MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS
  - Issue of Difference of Opinion and Medical Negligence
- CASE REPORT I13
- CASE REPORT II14
- CASE REPORT III15
- PROPOSED GUIDELINES
  - Guidelines for Prosecuting Medical Professionals for Criminal Negligence Cases
- CONCLUSION
3:Euthanasia: Legal, Social and Humanitarian Aspects
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- CLASSIFICATION
- HISTORY OF EUTHANASIA
- ARGUMENTS FAVORING EUTHANASIA
- ARGUMENTS AGAINST EUTHANASIA
- RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
  - Organizations Advocating Legalization of Euthanasia
  - Euthanasia Devices
- GLOBAL SCENARIO
- CURRENT LEGAL STATUS IN INDIA
- RECOMMENDATIONS
- CONCLUSION
4:Age of Child: Legal Perspective
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITION OF A CHILD
- DISCUSSION
- CONCLUSION
5:Recent Changes in Sexual Assault and Rape Laws
- INTRODUCTION
- HISTORY OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT
- INGREDIENTS OF THE OFFENCE
- MEDICOLEGAL EXAMINATION OF THE VICTIM
  - Instructions for Doctors/ Hospitals/Health Department
  - Medical Examination
- SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST CHILDREN
  - The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 201225
- CONCLUSION
6:Court Room Procedures
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- HISTORY OF LAW OF EVIDENCE
  - Evolution of Indian Evidence Act
- EVIDENCE
  - Medical Evidence
- THE LEGAL SYSTEM
  - Courts in India (Flow chart 6.1)
- WITNESS
- EXPERT WITNESS
- ROLE OF AN EXPERT MEDICAL WITNESS
- ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE AND TESTIMONY
- BURDEN AND STANDARD OF PROOF
- GOING TO THE COURT
- GIVING EVIDENCE
- CROSS-EXAMINATION TECHNIQUES
- SHORTCOMINGS
- CONCLUSION
- ACKNOWLEDGMENT
7:Expert Medical Evidence
- INTRODUCTION
- PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF EXPERT TESTIMONY
  - Medical Evidence
  - Expert Witness
- ADMISSIBILITY OF EXPERT EVIDENCE
- TYPES OF EVIDENCE
- GUIDELINES FOR EXPERT MEDICAL WITNESS
- CONCLUSION
8:Legal and Ethical Issues of Medical Records
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- DOCUMENTS CONSTITUTING MEDICAL RECORDS
- REQUIREMENTS OF MEDICAL RECORDS
- PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES OF MEDICAL RECORDS
  - Medical
  - Medicolegal
- OWNERSHIP OF MEDICAL RECORDS
- CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL RECORDS
- CUSTODY OF MEDICAL RECORDS
  - Responsibility of Medical Record Department
- ISSUING OF MEDICOLEGAL REPORT
- RETENTION OF MEDICAL RECORDS
  - Indian Regulations
  - International Guidelines
- CORRECTION OF MEDICAL RECORDS
- SUBPOENA OF MEDICAL RECORDS
- DESTRUCTION OF MEDICAL RECORDS
- ALTERNATIVES TO PAPER RECORD
  - Micro Filming of Records
- CONCLUSION
II: CLINICAL FORENSIC MEDICINE
9:Medicolegal Examination and Certification of a Case of Injury
- INTRODUCTION
- DIRECTLY FROM SITE OF INCIDENT
- REFERRED FROM OTHER MEDICAL FACILITY
- BROUGHT DIRECTLY BY POLICE
- REFERRED BY COURT
- INJURY REPORT
- EXAMINATION AND PREPARATION OF INJURY REPORT
- REPORT
- OPINIONS SOUGHT/REQUIRED IN CASE OF INJURIES
- CONCLUSION
10:Medicolegal Aspects of Injuries
- INTRODUCTION
  - Injury Characteristics Documented in Medicolegal Cases
  - Difficulties in Interpreting Indian Laws
- DEFINITION
- DISCUSSION
- GRIEVOUS HURT
- SOME GRIEVOUS INJURIES INVOLVING DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE BODY
  - Eye
  - Ear
  - Skin
  - Brain
- WEAPONS
  - Dangerous Weapon
  - Deadly Weapon
- INFORMING POLICE ABOUT CASES OF TRAUMA
  - Comments
- CONCLUSION
11:An Approach to a Case of Poisoning
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- HISTORY
- EPIDEMIOLOGY11–15
- APPROACH TO A SUSPECTED CASE OF POISONING
- DUTIES OF A MEDICAL PRACTITIONER IN SUSPECTED POISONING
- CONFIDENTIALITY AND REPORTING
- CIRCUMSTANCES OF POISONING2,6,7
- COLLECTION, PRESERVATION AND FORWARDING OF SAMPLES
  - General Methodology in Toxicological Examination
- CONFIRMATORY DIAGNOSIS
  - Toxicological Screening
    - Fast Limited Screening
    - Toxicological Screening by Chromatography
- INTERPRETATION OF TOXICOLOGICAL RESULTS
  - Limits on Interpretation
- CONCLUSION
12:An Approach to a Case of Alcohol Intoxication
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
  - Explanations
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- METABOLISM
- FACTORS DETERMINING ALCOHOL ABSORPTION
- ACTION
- SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF INTOXICATION
  - Death from Alcohol Poisoning
  - Management of Acute Alcohol Intoxication
- EXAMINATION OF SUSPECTED CASE OF DRUNKENNESS
- DIAGNOSIS OF INTOXICATION
  - Pathological States Simulating Alcohol Intoxication
- LAB EVALUATION
  - Hospital and Laboratory Testing
    - Alcohol dehydrogenase test
- MEDICOLEGAL REPORT WRITING
- MEDICOLEGAL ASPECTS OF ALCOHOLISM
- DEFENSES FOR NON-SUBMITTING OF SAMPLES
- RETROGRADE EXTRAPOLATION
- CONCLUSION
13:An Approach to a Case of Head and Neck Injury
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- ANATOMY
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- CLASSIFICATION
- MECHANISM OF SKULL FRACTURES12–14
- BIOMECHANICS OF BRAIN INJURY14–16
  - Inertial Injuries
  - Contact Injuries
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
  - Biochemical Abnormalities
- FOCAL INJURY
  - Scalp Injuries
- FACIAL INJURIES
- SKULL FRACTURES
- CRANIOFACIAL FRACTURES
- BRAIN INJURIES
  - Brain Contusions
- INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE
  - 1. Extradural Hemorrhage (EDH)27,28
  - 2. Subdural Hemorrhage29
  - 3. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage30
    - Traumatic Basilar Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
  - 4. Intracerebral Hemorrhage31–33
  - 5. Intraventricular Hemorrhage
- OTHER TYPES OF FOCAL INJURY IN BRAIN
- DIFFUSE INJURY
  - Concussion38–40
- Diffuse Axonal Injury41–43
  - Cerebral Edema
- MISSILE HEAD INJURY
- CLINICAL ASSESSMENT49–50
  - History
  - Examination
  - Assessment of Consciousness
  - Pupillary Reflexes
  - External Examination
  - Cranial Nerves
  - Peripheral Nervous System
  - Investigations
  - Management
- SPECIAL CONDITIONS/SITUATIONS
  - Coma, Brain Death and Persistent Vegetative State
- POST-TRAUMATIC SYNDROME (POST-CONCUSSIVE SYNDROME)58–60
  - Clinical Evaluation
- POST-TRAUMATIC AMNESIA61,62
- POST-TRAUMATIC EPILEPSY63,64
  - Early Seizures
  - Late Seizures
- ALCOHOL AND HEAD INJURY2,65–68
- BATTERED BABY SYNDROME—NON-ACCIDENTAL HEAD INJURY
- SPINAL INJURIES70,71
  - Incomplete Lesion
  - Complete Lesion
- SPINAL SHOCK72
- PEDIATRIC SPINAL INJURIES
- FRACTURE/DISLOCATION OF SPINE
  - Investigation of Cervical Spine Injuries
- MEDICOLEGAL ISSUES
- MEDICOLEGAL REPORTS AND COURT ROOM QUESTIONS
  - Nature of Injury
    - Illustrative Cases
- OTHER MEDICOLEGAL ISSUES
- MALINGERING
  - Possible Settings of Malingering
  - Possible External Gains
- CONCLUSION
14:An Approach to a Case of Near-hanging/Attempted Strangulation
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
  - Causes
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
- EFFECTS OF ASPHYXIA
- EVALUATION AND DOCUMENTATION
  - History
- CLINICAL PRESENTATION
  - Signs and Symptoms (In Surviving Victims)
- DIAGRAMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
- LABORATORY AND IMAGING
- MANAGEMENT
- COMPLICATIONS
- PROGNOSIS
- CONCLUSION
15:Emerging Issues in Sex Verification
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- NEED FOR SEX VERIFICATION TESTS
- HISTORY
- CASE REPORTS
- DETERMINATION OF SEX
- DISORDERS OF SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
- TESTS TO VERIFY SEX IDENTITY
- CURRENT STATUS OF SEX VERIFICATION TESTS
- GUIDELINES FOR INDIA
- ETHICAL ISSUES
- LEGAL ASPECTS
- POSTMORTEM FEATURES
- RECOMMENDATIONS
- CONCLUSION
- ACKNOWLEDGMENT
16:Victim Identification in Mass Disasters
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- CLASSIFICATION
- HISTORY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY
- OBJECTIVES OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT
- DISASTER VICTIM IDENTIFICATION (DVI)
  - Visual Identification
- RECOVERY TEAM
- AM TEAM
- PM TEAM
- DNA IN MASS DISASTER
- DENTISTRY IN MASS DISASTER
- OTHER METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION
- ADVANCEMENT IN INDIA
- RECOMMENDATIONS IN INDIAN SETUP
- CONCLUSION
III: FORENSIC PATHOLOGY
17:Judicial Hanging
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- HISTORY
- METHODS OF EXECUTION
- HANGING TECHNIQUES
- EQUIPMENT
- EXECUTION PROCEDURE IN INDIA
  - Rope
  - Procedure
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
  - Biomechanics of Hangman's Fracture
  - Cause of Death
- AUTOPSY FINDINGS
  - Hangman's Fracture
- SAMPLE POSTMORTEM REPORT
- LEGAL ASPECTS
- ETHICAL ISSUES IN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
- CONCLUSION
18:Dyadic Deaths
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- CLASSIFICATION
- SPOUSAL HOMICIDE-SUICIDE
- FAMILIAL HOMICIDE-SUICIDE
- EXTRA-FAMILIAL HOMICIDE-SUICIDE
- PERPETRATOR-VICTIM RELATIONSHIP
- METHODS USED
- PRECIPITATING FACTORS
- INVESTIGATIONS AND AUTOPSY
- CONCLUSION
19:Fat Embolism
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- CASE REPORT
- HISTORY
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- CLASSIFICATION
- ETIOLOGY
- PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS
  - Presenting History
- CLINICAL FEATURES
- INVESTIGATIONS
- DIAGNOSIS
- DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES
- TREATMENT
  - Medical Care
  - Surgical Care
- COMPLICATIONS
- PROGNOSIS
  - Prevention
- CAUSE OF DEATH
- POSTMORTEM CHANGES
- DISCUSSION
- MEDICOLEGAL ASPECTS
- CONCLUSION
20:Tattoo: Historical, Social and Psychological Aspects
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITIONS
- HISTORY
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- CLASSIFICATION OF TATTOO
- TATTOO STYLES
- REASONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF TATTOOING
- TECHNIQUES OF TATTOOING
- LOCAL TISSUE CHANGES IN A TATTOO
- LONGEVITY OF TATTOO
- COMPLICATIONS OF TATTOO
- VISIBILITY OF A TATTOO
- REMOVAL OF TATTOO
- DIAGNOSTIC DIFFICULTY
- CONCLUSION
21:Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- INTRODUCTION
- DEFINITION
- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- EPIDEMIOLOGY
- INFANT CHARACTERISTICS
- ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
- DIAGNOSIS
- INVESTIGATION INTO SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME
- MECHANISM OF SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME
- MEDICOLEGAL ISSUES
- CONCLUSION
22:Post-autopsy Reconstruction
- INTRODUCTION
- CURRENT METHODOLOGY
  - Abdomen and Pelvis
  - The Skull
- REMOVAL OF ACCUMULATED FLUIDS
- WADDING
- VISCERA CONTAINMENT
- SUTURING
- THE NECK
- THORAX AND ABDOMEN
- HEAD
- WASHING
- SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
- FETAL AND PEDIATRIC RECONSTRUCTION
- CONCLUSION

INDEX

TOC
Index

×

Chapter Notes