Forensic pathology

Session Overview: This session explores research advancing human identification, skeletal trauma analysis, and death investigation. Presentations will feature innovations in skeletal analysis, decomposition studies, time since death estimation, and multidisciplinary approaches to complex medicolegal investigations.

Goals:

This presentation discusses experimental tests of a model for drug uptake by human bone and explores how the results may be applied to detect nerve agent exposure from human remains recovered from mass graves during human rights investigations.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 9, 2017.

In this webinar, we will introduce a newly developed software tool called “Fragmento”. Viewers will be able to learn how to use Fragmento to sort and assemble skeletal fragmentary remains and reconstruct the full bone and biological profile.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 3, 2018.

Attendees will be introduced to the new features of the new software release, how to maximize results, and how to best interpret results for forensic casework application.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on August 16, 2018.
 

Alternate light has the potential to be an important tool for improving the detection and documentation of bruises among victims of violence. In this webinar, we discussed the science behind the technology, new evidence supporting its use, and clinical considerations regarding its application.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on October 30, 2019.

These presentations highlight specific case studies from a pathologist’s perspective. Jamie Downs, M.D., discussed several topics, including best practices for identifying child abuse and the difference between manner of death and cause of death.

These presentations highlight specific case studies from a pathologist’s perspective. Jamie Downs, M.D., discussed several topics, including best practices for identifying child abuse and the difference between manner of death and cause of death.

These presentations highlight specific case studies from a pathologist’s perspective. Jamie Downs, M.D., discussed several topics, including best practices for identifying child abuse and the difference between manner of death and cause of death.

These presentations highlight specific case studies from a pathologist’s perspective. Jamie Downs, M.D., discussed several topics, including best practices for identifying child abuse and the difference between manner of death and cause of death.

In the sixth and final webinar, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT in the investigation of a variety of unnatural deaths not discussed in previous webinars.  Topics include overdose deaths, select asphyxial mechanisms of death, and sharp force injury.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 18, 2021. 

In the fifth webinar, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT in the investigation of natural deaths.  At the New Mexico OMI, a PMCT scan may be used to rule out trauma in apparently natural deaths, or to confirm a natural cause of death.  Depending on investigative details (circumstances, age, and medical history), and the PMCT findings, pathologists may choose to perform an external exam or a full autopsy.

This webinar was presented by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on May 11, 2021.

In the third webinar, participants will be introduced to the use of PMCT for examining decedents with gunshot wounds, both homicidal and self-inflicted.  At the New Mexico OMI, a PMCT scan is performed in virtually all gunshot wound (GSW) related deaths.  In cases of suspected homicide or suspicious suicides, autopsy is also performed.  However, in non-suspicious cases involving self-inflicted GSW, PMCT is combined with an external examination, and sometimes a partial autopsy to retrieve a retained projectile, replacing the full autopsy.