Forensic Pathology Research Paper

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Paula Bonfy SOC 4743-901 5 March 2015 Forensic Pathologists at Death Investigations Death investigations consist of much work at the scene. Forensic pathologists are an important aspect of death investigation. Forensic pathologists perform jobs regarding the scene investigation, cause of death, autopsy, manner of death, and estimating the time of death. Forensic pathologists are investigative personnel who investigate the cause, manner, and time of death of a victim in a crime, and they have been trained to conduct autopsies (Saferstein, 2013). The forensic pathologist also gather useful information from the crime scene. The pathologists photograph and document the scene then they proceed to collect physical evidence, give a time of death,…show more content…
Details from the scene must be recorded to help when trying to figure out the cause of death. Photographs are always needed to be taken in order to look back on. The photographs must be taken of an undisturbed crime scene. Another job of the forensic pathologist also includes the identification of the deceased. Sometimes identification of the body can be a difficult task due to body decomposition and extensive trauma, which will lead to a further investigation consisting of DNA, fingerprinting, dental examination, and facial reconstruction (Saferstein, 2013). Cause of death is determined by the forensic pathologist. Cause of death identifies the injury or disease that led to the chain of events resulting in death (Saferstein, 2013). Some common causes of deaths include; blunt force injury, sharp force injury, asphyxia, gunshot wounds, and substance abuse (Saferstein, 2013). The forensic pathologist is expected to identify the underlying cause of death. Forensic pathologists are trained to conduct autopsies. An autopsy is a surgical procedure on a dead body to determine cause of death (Saferstein, 2013). Evidence from the autopsy, external examination, and internal examination are important steps of the autopsy and they need to be carefully documented and photographed by the

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