What is a coroner?
A coroner is a public official, appointed or elected, in a particular geographic
jurisdiction, whose official duty is to make inquiry into deaths in certain
categories. The office of the coroner or "crowner" dates back to medieval days when
the crowner was responsible for looking into deaths to be sure death duties
were paid to the King. The coroner's primary duty in contemporary times is
to make inquiry into the death and complete the certificate of death.
The coroner assigns a cause and manner of death and lists them on the
certificate of death. The cause of death refers to the disease, injury
or poison that caused the death. The coroner assigns a cause and manner of
death and lists them on the certificate of death. The cause of
death refers to the disease, injury or poison that caused the death. The
coroner also decides if a death occurred under natural circumstances
or was due to accident, homicide, suicide or undetermined means or
circumstances.
Coroners are called upon to decide if a death was due to foul play.
Depending upon the jurisdiction and the law defining the coroner's duties,
the coroner may or may not be trained in the medical sciences. The coroner may
employ physicians, pathologists, or forensic pathologists to perform autopsies
when there appears to be a question or manner of death that autopsy can
elucidate. In some jurisdictions, the coroner is a physician, but in
may localities, the coroner is not required to be a physician nor be
trained in medicine. In the absence of medical expertise, the non-physician
coroner may have difficulty in sorting out subtle non-violent and
violent causes of death.
What is a medical examiner?
A medical examiner is a physician, hence, the title medical examiner.
When acting in an official capacity, the physician medical examiner is
charged, within a particular jurisdiction, with the investigation
and examination of persons dying a sudden, unexpected or violent death.
The role of a medical examiner differs from the at of the non-physician
coroner in that the medical examiner is expected to bring medical
expertise to the evaluation of the medical history and physical
examination of the deceased. The physician medical examiner usually is
not required to be a specialist in death investigation or pathology and
may practice any branch of medicine. Most systems employing physicians as
part time medical examiners encourage them to take advantage of medical
training for medical examiners to increase their level of medical
expertise as applied to death investigation. The National
Association of Medical Examiners and the American Academy Forensic
Sciences are two organizations that offer specialized training.
What is a pathologist?
A pathologist is a physician trained in the medical specialty of
pathology. Pathology is the branch of medicine that deals with the
diagnosis of disease and causes of death by means of laboratory
examination of body fluids (clinical pathology) cell samples, (cytology)
and tissues (pathologic anatomy). The autopsy is the procedure utilized
to study the dead. It is primarily a systematic external an internal
examination for the purposes of diagnosing disease and determining
the presence of absence of injury. In modern times chemical analysis of
body fluids for medical information as well as analysis for drugs and
poisons should be part of any autopsy on a dead body coming under the
jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner.
What is a forensic pathologist?
The forensic pathologist is a subspecialist in pathology whose area
of special competence is the examination of persons who die
sudden, unexpected or violent death. The forensic pathologist is an expert
in determining cause and manner of death. The forensic pathologist is
specially trained: to perform autopsies to determine the presence
or absence of disease, injury or poisoning; to evaluate historical and
law-enforcement investigative information relating to manner of
death; to collect medical evidence, such as trace evidence and
secretions, to document sexual assault; and to reconstruct how a
person received injuries. Forensic pathologists are trained in multiple
non medical sciences as well as traditional medicine. Other areas of
science that the forensic pathologist must have a working knowledge of the
applicability of are toxicology, firearms examination (wound
ballistics), trace evidence, forensic serology and DNA technology. The
forensic pathologist acts as the case coordinator for the medical and
forensic scientific assessment of a given death, making sure that the
appropriate procedures and evidence collection techniques are applied to
the body. When forensic pathologists are employed as death investigators
they bring their expertise to bear upon the interpretation of the scene
of death, in the assessment of the consistency of witnesses statements
with injuries, and the interpretation of injury patterns or patterned
injuries. In jurisdictions where there are medical examiner systems,
forensic pathologists are usually employed to perform autopsies to
determine cause of death.
Specifically what does a Forensic Pathologist do?
As a physician who specializes in the investigation of sudden, unexpected
and violent deaths the forensic pathologist attempts to determine the
identification of the deceased, the time of death, the manner of death
(natural, accident, suicide or homicide) the cause of death and if
the death was by injury, the nature of the instrument used to cause the
death.
First, the forensic pathologist gathers a history as to how the death
occurred and often obtains the past medical history of the deceased as
well. Next, the forensic pathologist examines the body externally and then
internally taking biopsies of tissues to further examine under the
microscope for disease not visible to the naked eye. This postmortem
examination is known as an autopsy.
During the course of the autopsy, various laboratory tests may be
undertaken, including x-rays, retention of body fluids such as
blood and urine for toxicologic analysis and cultures of body fluids
and organs for evidence of infection.
When all of the information including the history, the results of the
autopsy and the laboratory tests are completed, the forensic pathologist
correlates all the information and draws conclusions as to the cause and
manner of death. A report is then prepared summarizing these findings.
The forensic pathologist can expect to be subpoenaed to testify before
courts and other tribunals about the pathologic findings and conclusions.
Coroners, medical examiners and pathologist provide copies of their
official reports to parties, such as insurers or public agencies, having a
legitimate interest in the cause and manner of death of citizens.
How does the forensic pathologist use the history, external physical
examination, autopsy and laboratory studies to determine the cause and
manner of death?
The history is the beginning of the investigation and is of utmost
importance in making the determination of cause of death. The
scene investigation may disclose drugs or toxins which may be related
to the cause of death. Some poisonous agents are not detected on
a routine drug screens therefore the pathologist must have knowledge of
medications and toxins in order to request the specific analytical tests
needed to detect them. An example would include the "sniffing" of
aerosol propellants, a risky activity which has been frequently reported in
teenagers. Sniffing of propellant substances can cause sudden death by
precipitating lethal cardiac arrhythmias. A special analysis (gas
chromatography by head space analysis) is required to detect the
chemicals in the blood. In other cases there may be sufficient natural
disease to account for death but the individual may in fact have died of a
drug overdose or other subtle cause. In the case of drowning and
suffocation the autopsy findings may not be specific and police
investigation may be critical to the understanding of the death. Data
developed by coroners, medical examiners and pathologists is studied
by medical epidemiologists and heath an safety agencies to develop
strategies to prevent disease and injury, thereby saving lives. The
data developed about motor vehicle injuries and fire deaths lead to
legislation requiring seat belts in vehicles and smoke detectors in
building construction.
In the examination of skeletonized or severely decomposed remains, the
forensic pathologist needs a working knowledge of multiple methods of
identification including forensic anthropology in order to establish
identity. If sufficient skeletal parts remain, the pathologist may be
able to determine the age, race and sex of the individual and sometimes
estimate the length of time since death. Occasionally, specific
markings on the bones may enable the pathologist to come to a conclusion
as to the cause of death.
What is the importance of performing an autopsy in someone in whom the
cause of death is "obvious" ?
The importance of examining people in whom the cause of death appears
obvious is several fold. In the case of shootings or other fatal assaults
the forensic pathologist, during the course of the examination, may
recover bullets or other important trace evidence. In the case of motor
vehicle occupants, it is important to determine who was driving and to
assess driver factors, vehicle factors or environmental factors that
might have caused or contribute to the crash. Forensic autopsies may
identify inherited diseases that constitute a risk for next of kin.
Examples include certain types of heart disease (premature
atherosclerosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) and certain kinds of
kidney disease (adult polycystic kidney disease). Notifying the
family would be an important service to the living. In individuals who
have undergone medical treatment after collapse or injury it is
important to share the findings with the treating physicians for
educational purposes.
How does an autopsy authorized by the next of kin on a patient dying in the
hospital of a natural disease differ from an autopsy authorized by law as
part of a medicolegal investigation?
The hospital autopsy is often performed on individuals in whom the
disease causing death is known. The purpose of the autopsy is to
determine the extent of the disease and/or the effects of therapy and the
presence of any undiagnosed disease of interest or that might have
contributed to death.
The next-of-kin must give permission for the autopsy and may limit the extent of
the dissection (for example the chest and abdomen only, excluding the
head).
A medicolegal (forensic) autopsy is ordered by the coroner or medical
examiner as authorized by law with the statutory purpose of establishing
the cause of death and answer other medicolegal questions. The next-of-kin
do not authorize and may not limit the extent of the autopsy.
Common questions include the identity of the deceased person, the time of
injury and death and the presence of medical evidence (for example
bullets, hair, fibers, semen). Observations made at autopsy
elucidate how and by what weapon lethal injury was inflicted. During
the course of the forensic autopsy, blood and other body fluids are
routinely obtained in order to check for alcohol and other drugs. The
forensic autopsy should be complete (including the head, chest, abdomen
and other parts of the body as indicated.
What is clinical forensic pathology?
Because of their expertise in interpreting methods of injury, many
forensic pathologists also examine, upon request, living patients
including individuals who have been sexually assaulted (rape) and
children who have been injured to assist in determining if child abuse
or neglect has occurred. The forensic pathologist also examines
patients to determine whether the pattern of injuries is consistent
with accidental or intentionally inflicted injuries. During these
examinations a forensic pathologist may collect evidence for analysis.
Examination of living patients is customarily performed on behalf of
law-enforcement agencies needing the same information on the living as
required on dead victims of injury.
Where do forensic pathologists work?
Forensic pathologist are employed by states, counties, groups of counties,
or cities, as well as by medical schools, the military services, and
the federal government. In some setting such as medium sized and
smaller counties the forensic pathologist may work for a private
group or hospital which contracts with the county to perform forensic
autopsies.
How does one become a forensic pathologist?
1) After high school the future forensic pathologist attends college
for 4 years and receives a bachelors degree.
2) After undergraduate school the aspiring forensic pathologist spends
4 years in medical school, earning an M.D. or D.O. degree.
3) After medical school there are several routes by which one may
become a forensic pathologist. One may spend 5 years training in
anatomic & clinical pathology followed by 1 year of residency or
fellowship in forensic pathology. A second option is to train for 4 years
in anatomic pathology and train for 1 year in forensic pathology. The
residency training in forensic pathology involves practical
(On-the-job) experience supervised by trained forensic pathologist. The
forensic pathology resident actually performs autopsies and participates in death
investigation. To become certified, one then must pass an examination
given by the American Board of Pathology certifying special competence in
forensic pathology.
Forensic pathologists practice medicine in the finest tradition of
preventive medicine and public health by making the study of the dead
benefit the living.
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