Medical jurisprudence

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 involving 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 investigating 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. The Australian Museum shows in a step by step virtual demonstration what happens during an autopsy procedure. 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 Injustice Rectified. Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 1564), imperial physician to the court of Emperor Charles V, revolutionized 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 worked, 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 States and Catholic church.