SCOPE OF FORENSIC

RADIOLOGY
By,
Shaheena M. Ansari
Roll No. 2
Msc -II
Contents:
Forensic radiology
Determination of Identity
Evaluation of Injury and Death
Accidental
Non accidental
Osseous injury
Missiles and foreign bodies
Other trauma
Other causes
Criminal Litigation
Fatal
Nonfatal
Civil Litigation
References


Forensic Radiology
Special branch of medicine employing
ionizing radiant energy comprises the
performance, interpretation , and reportage
of those radiological examinations and
procedures that have to do with the courts
and/or the law.
Determination of Identity

Differentiation between:
Animal Vs. Human remains
Age
Gender
Stature

Individualization based on:
Odontology
Pre existing injuries
Illness
Congenital and/or developmental
peculiarities

Requires ante-mortem and post-mortem
images of body or body parts.
Evaluation of injury and Death

Types and extent of injury
Injuries responsible for death
Location and type of fracture
Inflicted / accidental injury or defensive

Cont
Configuration and direction of fractures in
skull
Locate the point and direction of impact
Sequence of repetitive blows
Shape of wounding object
Time span since original injury

Cont
Fracture of hyoid bone or thyroid cornua in
strangulation cases





In vehicular injury velocity of impact
Missiles and foreign bodies
Gun shot wounds
the snapped-off point of a knife, fragments of broken
glass , bomb fragments or shrapnel, parts of the
automobile or aircraft in which the victim was riding
animal, mineral, or vegetable matter embedded,
aspirated, or injected .
Opaque poisons in soft tissues or the gut.
Foreign bodies in the vagina,
rectum, bladder or other tissues
can indicate sexual abuse,
autoeroticism, or psychosis.


Other trauma
Intracranial hemorrhage from shaking,
penetrating wounds with injected contrast
media, as so can vascular tears or avulsions
be revealed.
Fractures of the laryngeal soft tissues with
hanging
massive soft tissue contusions may follow
beatings.

Other causes
Drowning -radiological appearance of the chest
Air embolism to the heart, brain, or vascular tree
Presence of pneumothorax,pneumopericardium,
pneumomediastinum, pneumoperitoneum, or
abnormal air collections associated with abscess,
obstruction, or paralytic dysfunction .
Arson cases


Criminal Litigation

Fatal Non- Fatal
murder, suicide, attempted
murder, manslaughter,
mayhem, assault, battery,
abuse, terrorism
as smuggling, larceny and
fraud, faking, or
counterfeiting.

Civil litigation
In cases of:
wrongful death or birth,
civil rights violation
personal injury ,etc
Conclusion:
Use of forensic radiography is postmortem
study, particularly to determine cause of death
or injury . Forensic radiography may be used to
investigate accidental or non accidental injury ,
to help identify remains at local medical
examiner offices or at the scenes of mass
casualties. Radiologic evidence may be used in
civil and criminal court cases ranging from
fraud to assault.
Reference

Ortner, D. S. and Putschar, W. G. J.,
Identification of Pathological Conditions in HumanSkeletal
Remains, reprint ed., Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington, D.C., 1985.
http://mariorad.com/books/General%20radiology/048%
20Forensic%20Radiology%20-
%20B.%20G.%20Brogdon.pdf