Medicine, forensic

Forensic science is an applied science having a focus on practical scientific issues that come up during criminal investigations or at trial. Some components ate unique to the field because it is conducted within the legal arena. Forensic science issues in chemistry and biochemistry in criminal investigations are discussed herein. There are a host of other forensic science areas, eg, forensic medicine, forensic dentistry, forensic anthropology, forensic psychiatry, and forensic engineering, any of which may overlap with forensic chemistry. 

DNA sequences as short as 50-100 bp and as long as 10 kb can be amplified. Twenty cycles provide an amplification of 10 and 30 cycles of 10. The PCR allows the DNA in a single cell, hair follicle, or spermatozoon to be amplified and analyzed. Thus, the applications of PCR to forensic medicine are obvious. The PCR is also used (1) to detect Infectious agents, especially latent viruses (2) to make prenatal genetic diagnoses (3) to detect allelic polymorphisms (4) to establish precise tissue types for transplants and (5) to study... 

There is a normal variation of DNA sequence just as is true of more obvious aspects of human structute. Variations of DNA sequence, polymorphisms, occur approximately once in evety 500 nucleotides, or about 10 times per genome. There are without doubt deletions and insertions of DNA as well as single-base substitutions. In healthy people, these alterations obviously occur in noncoding regions of DNA or at sites that cause no change in function of the encoded protein. This heritable polymorphism of DNA structure can be associated with certain diseases within a large kindred and can be used to search for the specific gene involved, as is illustrated below. It can also be used in a variety of applications in forensic medicine. 

Ohya I, Komoriya H, Bunai Y. 1985. [Discoloration of surface of the brain and liver in a case of fatal hydrogen sulfide intoxication.] Research and Practice in Forensic Medicine 28 119-123. (Japanese)... 

Dr. Karch is forensic science editor for Humana Press, and he serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Cardiovascular Toxicology, the Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine (London), Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology, and Clarke s Analysis of Drugs and Poisons. 

Dr. Karch was elected a fellow of the Faculty of Legal and Forensic Medicine, Royal College of Physicians (London) in 2006. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME), the Royal Society of Medicine in London, and the Forensic Science Society of the U.K. He is a member of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TLAFT). 

His body (see Figure 8.13) was retrieved and taken to the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Innsbruck. Their analytical tests - principally radiocarbon dating - suggest that Otzi died between 3360 and 3100 bc. Additional radiocarbon dating of wooden artifacts found near his body show how the site of his death was used as a mountain pass for millennia before and... 

Istanbul University, Department of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey Ali Erdogmu ... 

Most repetitive sequences are not in coding regions. Because expansion of these sequences in spacer DMA rarely affects any function, they become highly polymorphic in the population and can be used to develop a genetic fir erprint. Such fingerprints are important in paternity testing and forensic medicine. Very small samples containing dried tissue can be analyzed by this technique. 

Source The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology Official Pubhcation of the National Association of Medical Examiners. 

INSIDE FORENSIC SCIENCE Forensic Anthropology Forensic DNA Analysis Forensic Medicine Forensic Pharmacology Legal Aspects of Forensics The Forensic Aspects of Poisons... 

Glaister, see Kerr, Forensic Medicine (Black, London), 1935 Guy and Perrier, Principles of Forensic Medicine, 7th Ed., revised Smith (Henry Renshaw), 1895. 

Weider, B. and Fournier, J.H. (1999) Activation analyses of authenticated hairs of Napoleon bonaparte confirm arsenic poisoning. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 20(4), 378-82. 

Advances in analytical techniques continue to multiply in all fields of toxicology, and as mentioned, many of these focus on the environmental area. Whether looking for new techniques to sample water or for an automated instrument to determine quantities of sulfur-containing compounds in air, such devices are available. In many instances, developments in environmental analyses are adaptable to experimental work related to drug toxicity, or in forensic medicine, to determine the cause of poisoning. 

The quantitative racemization of hyoscyamine to atropine was achieved16 by refluxing the methanolic or butanolic solution (catalysed by a base) or, even better, by refluxing in diethylamine. The partial racemization, i.e. epimerization at C-2, of (—)-cocaine to (+)-pseudococaine was effected by strong bases in methanol followed by re-benzoylation of C-3 in pseudoecgonine methyl ester. This interconversion17 allows the detection of small amounts of cocaine in forensic medicine. 

Division of Cell Biology Department of Forensic Medicine Varna University of Medicine 55 Marin Drinov str. 

Applications of PCR PCR has made a huge impact in molecular biology, with many applications in areas such as cloning, sequencing, the creation of specific mutations, medical diagnosis and forensic medicine. 

Because of its extreme sensitivity, PCR is now fundamentally important to forensic medicine. It is even possible to use PCR to amplify the DNA from a single human hair or a microscopic drop of blood left at the scene of a crime to allow detailed characterization. 

Department of Forensic Medicine, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Monash University, 57-83 Kavanagh St, Southbank 3006, VC, Australia e-mail jochenb vifm.org... 

---