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Legal Medicine

 Medical jurisprudence or legal medicine is the branch of science and medicine involving the study and application of scientific and medical knowledge to legal problems, such as inquests, and in the field of law. As modern medicine is a legal creation, regulated by the state, and medicolegal cases involvimg death, rape, paternity, etc. require a medical practitioner to produce evidence and appear as an expert witness, these two fields have traditionally been interdependent.

Forensic medicine, which includes forensic pathology, is a narrower frontline field which involves the collection, documentation, analysis and presentation of objective information (medical evidence) for use in the legal system.


When investigatimg a death, forensic pathologists:
  • perform autopsies when required
  • may be appointed as coroners to investigate cases of suspicious death
  • determine the cause of death and all other factors that relate to the body directly
  • may attend crime scenes
  • frequently testify in court

Song Ci (1186-1249) was probably the first forensic scientist. He recorded all the known forensic techniques at the time in his book known as the Collected Cases of Justice Rectified.

Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), imperial physician to the court of Emperor Charles V, revolutioned the practice of medicine by providing detailed descriptions of the anatomy of the human body, which were based on his dissections of cadavers and autopsies. In 1537, aged just 22, Vesalius performed public dissections to show how the human body works, and became professor of medicine at Padua University. He insisted that his medical students should perform dissections. His work "De Humani Corporis Fabrica" was groundbreaking in the history of medical publishing and is considered to be a major step in the development of scientific medicine.

Paul Zacchias was also one of the earliest figures of medical jurisprudence, with association with the Papal Statrs and the Catholic Church. Zaccias was the personal physician to Pope Innocent X and Pope Alexander VII, as well as legal adviser to the Rota Romana (the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church). His most well known book, Quaestiones medico-legales (1621-1651) established legal medicine as a topic of study. Zacchias work contains superstitious views on magic, witches, and demons which were widely held at that time.

Medical jurisprudence had a chair founded at the University of Edinburgh in 1807, first occupied by Andrew Duncan, the younger. It was imposed on the university by the administration of Charles James Fox, and in particular Henry Erskine working with Andrew Duncan, the elder.

In the 19th century, two new tools appear: forensic psychiatry (to determine the mental health and blameworthiness of a suspect), and forensic toxicology (giving evidence in cases as intentional poisonings and drug use).

In the United Kingdom, the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine was established as a Faculty of the Royal College of Physicians in 2006 to develop and maintain the highest possible standards of competence and professional integrity in forensic and legal medicine. The specialty covers professionals working in three related disciplines: forensic medical practitioners, medico-legal advisers, and medically qualified coroners.

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