Forensic medicine

Forensic medicine
The branch of medicine that deals with the application of medical knowledge to legal problems and legal proceedings. Forensic medicine is also called legal medicine. A physician may be engaged in forensic (or legal) medicine; a lawyer with comparable interests is said to be engaged in medical jurisprudence. The word "forensic" has an unusual history. It comes from the Latin word "forensis" pertaining to a forum. In ancient Rome the forum was a market place where people gathered, not just to buy things, but also to conduct all kinds of business, including that of public affairs. The meaning of "forensic" later came to be restricted to refer to the courts of law. The word entered English usage in 1659.

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forensic medicine n a science that deals with the relation and application of medical facts to legal problems called also legal medicine

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the branch of medicine concerned with the scientific investigation of the causes of injury and death in unexplained circumstances, particularly when criminal activity is suspected. Such investigations are carried out chiefly by pathologists at the request of a coroner, in conjunction with other experts and police investigators.

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the branch of medicine that deals with the application of medical knowledge to the purposes of law. This term and medical jurisprudence are sometimes used as synonyms, but some authorities consider the first as a branch of medicine and the second as a branch of law. Called also legal m.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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