Forensic Medicine & Toxicology (Points to Remember)

Posted: October 24, 2013 by Dr. Amit Singh in FORENSIC MEDICINE

Forensic medicine: is the application of medical and paramedical knowledge in the administration
of law and justice.

Legal medicine and state medicine are other names for it.

Medical jurisprudence: Deals with the legal rights, privileges, duties and obligations of medical
practitioner.

Pin point pupils = Opium

Dilatation of pupils = Dhatura, Cyanide
Constriction of pupils = Opium, phenol, organo-phosphorus, physostigmine, chloral hydrate.
Cumulative poisons are: Barbiturates, and methyl alcohol
Habit forming poisons are: Caffeine and Nicotine.

Addiction drugs are: Alcohol, Barbiturates, Coccaine, Cannabis, Chloral hydrate, Opium,
Pethidine.

Hemodialysis is good value in: Salicylate, methanol, barbiturate, and aspirin (except kerosene oil
and diazephem)

1st sign of intra-uterine death: Gas shadow in aorta (as early as 12 hours).

Increased anion gap is seen in Salicylate poisoning, lactic acidosis, starvation.

Ideal suicide poison = Cyanide

Ideal homicide poison = Thallium, fluoride compounds.
Commonly used homicidal poisons: Arsenic, aconite
Commonly used suicidal poisons: Endrine, Opium, Barbiturates, Organophosphorus compounds.
Poison resembling cholera = Arsenic
Poison resembling tetanus = Strychnine
Poison resembling natural death = Thallium
Poison resembling fading measles = Arsenic
Poison resembling thyrotoxicosis = Bi-nitro compounds.

Tests for detecting poisons:

Arsenic = Marshs test, Reinschs test

Opium = Marquis test
Alcohol = Mcevans test
Datura = Mydriatic test
Phenol = Green urine.

The Percentage of blood alcohol in the stage of dead drunk is 0.5%.

Pisiform gets ossified by 12 yrs of age.

By 14 yrs. patella gets ossified.

Anterior fontanelle closes by 18 months of age.

Critical level of alcohol in blood is 0.15%.

In exhumation, 6-7 samples of earth are collected.

The height of a child is double of birth height by 4 years of age,

Under IPC, a person below 7 years is not criminally responsible.
Fatal period of Datura poisoning is 24 hours.
In India, rigor mortis sets within 1-2 hours.
While dispatching blood and urine for chemical analysis, sodium fluoride is added as
preservative in concentration of 50 mg/10ml.

The minimum age for giving consent for surgery is 18 years.

In fractured ends of bone, soft provisional callus is formed by 15 hours.
The minimum time required for adipocere formation in a dead body is 21 days.
Indian Medical Council Act was enacted in 1956.
Mental retardation is I.Q. Below 70.
Ratio between ethyl alcohol in blood to urine is 1:1.33
Gas rigidity appears after 72 hours.
Marbling is noticed by 36 hours.
Full development of rigor mortis takes about 12 hours.

Intercourse with wife below 15 years of age is considerable rape.

Fatal period of aconite isusually 1-5 hours.
Cooling of body is gradual upto 1-3 hours.
Hypostasis is mottled within first 3 hours of death.
Killing range of a militry rifle is 3000 yards.
Juvenile offender is a person under 16 years
The dispersion of pellets is seen usually at distance beyond 10 feet.
In a gunshot wound, the presence of singeing of hair or charring of skin denotes a fire up to 18
inches.
Dispersion of pellets in shotgun injury is calculated as dispersion in inches = 1.5 times the
dispersion in yards.
An infant born before 210 days is not legally considered capable of maintaining a separate
existence.

A bruise showing bluish black discolouration is 4 days old.

Rh positivity in India is 93%.

In India, sexual maturity is gained at 14 years of age.

The degree of accuracy in determining sex from long bones is 80%.

The upper limit of safety for carbon monoxide in air is 0.01%.

In an abrasion, the scab usually dries and falls between 4-6 days.
Fatal dose of opium is 2 gm.
The range of an air rifle is about 90 yards.
Mixed dentition is seen in children between 6-12 years of age.
Basi sphenoid unites the basi-occiput at the age to 22 years.
First permanent molar appears at age of 6-7 years.
Judicial first class Magistrate can pass a sentence of imprisonment upto 3 years.
Age of maturity for those under court of wards is 21 years.

Fatal period of sulphuric acid poisoning is 18-24 hours.

Multiplying factors for estimating stature from humerus and femur in males are 5- 5.3 and 3.6-3.8
respectively.
Colliquative liquefaction is seen within 1 week after death.
A contusion assumes green colour by 6 days.
Marriage age for boys and girls are 21 years and 18 years respectively.
Internal organs take 24 hours to cool. A person becomes major at the age of 18 years.

Eruption of temporary teeth is completed by 2 to 2.5 years.

Foetal parts can be detected on plain X-ray usually by 16 weeks.

Child below 12 years is not required to take an oath.

Xiphoid process unites with sternum at age of 40 years.
Cranial capacity is 10% less in females.
Nuclear features persist in decomposition for a period of 2-3 years.
Precipitin test is positive to be opium in dead body upto 10 years.
After death, benzidine test is positive upto 150 years. Bones begin to decompose after death in

3-10 years.
Less than 7 aminoacids in bone suggest age of bone after death as more than 100 years.

The rate of cooling of body in first 6 hours is 2.5F and in next 6 hours as 1.5-2.0 F.

Victim of drowning in a state of suspended animation can be revived as long as 10-20 minutes.

Centre of ossification for pisiform bone appears at an age of 10-12 years.

The floatation time in summer for a dead body after drowning is one day.
The age of 15 years old female is best determined by the radiography of upper end of radius and

ulna.

Maggots in a dead body do not appear before 48 hours.

Hairs become loose after 72 hours of death.
Epiphyseal union of sternal end of clavicle occurs at age of 22 years.
Washer womans hands and feet usually occur within 12-18 hours.
Saponification in drowning occurs in about 5 weeks.
Death ensues in about 5 mts. of complete submersion.
By ABO.RH, MN systems the exclusion of Paternity is about 50%.
Estimation of Age from eruption of teeth is possible upto 17 to 21 years of age.

Gustafsons method for estimation age of adult over 21 years.

In poisoning by salicylates, the Gastric lavage is useful upto 24 hours.
The age of consent for medical examination in cases of rape is minimum 12 years.
If a person is absent from his usual haunts, and has not been heard for 7 hears, he is

presumed to be dead.
Infanticide means unlawful destruction of child below 1 year of age.
By ABO, Rh, MN systems the exclusion of Paternity is about 50%
Estimation of Age from eruption of teeth is possible upto 17 to 21 years of age
In poisoning by salicylates, the Gastric lavage is useful upto 24 hours
The age of consent for medical examination in cases of rape is minimum 12 years
In sin of Gomorrah-buccal swabs are useful upto 9 hours
In most countries, breath alcohol concentration 35 mg/100 ml is considered an offence After
absorption, the ratio of alcohol in blood and urine is constant and is 1:1.31
Histologically, reticulum fibres in an abrasion are seen on 8 days
Widmarks formula for urine analysis of alcohol is 3/4 prq
Pancreas constitute 0.1% of body weight
Punishment for false evidence is given under section 193 of IPC
Length of a female larynx is about 3.8 cm
Calcification of third molar begins at 8-10 years.
Lip prints on cheiloscopy are divided into 8 patterns

The diameter of human hair at 15 years of age is 0.053 ram *

Alcohol gaze nystagmus is produced at an average blood levels of 80 mg%

The residual alcohol in mouth takes about 20 min to disappear and within this period breath
analyser test may be false positive
Skeletal muscles constitute about 29% of body weight
Term under the influence of alcohol is used when blood concentration is 80- 100mg%
Statutory rape is rape under 15 years of age
Weight for occluding internal jugular vein hanging is 2 kg
Majority of deaths due to Aluminium phosphide occurs in within 24 hours

During sleep, rectal temperature is 0.5-1.0C lower

Drowned body floats in about 12-18 hours in summers
Bones constitute about 12% of body weight
Absence of III molar tooth indicates that the person is definitely under the age of 17 years
In a dead body, maggots in rainy day are seen in 6 hours.
Arsenic, Aconite and Dhatura are generally used as homicidal poisons.
Ricin is the active principle of croton oil seed.
Abrin is the active principle of abrus precatorius.

FORENSIC BALLISTICS PART 1: FIREARMS AND AMMUNITIONS

Posted: April 21, 2013 by Dr Sujeet Kumar in FORENSIC MEDICINE
Tags: BULLET, FIREARM INJURY, FORENSIC BALLISTICS, PISTOL, REVOLVER 2
FORENSIC BALLISTICS : Deals with investigation of firearms, ammunition and problem arising from their
use.
TERMINAL BALLISTICS : STUDY OF BEHAVIOUR OF PROJECTILE WHEN IT HITS THE TARGET
FIGURE BELOW WILL SHOW U TYPES OF FIREARM:
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NOW KNOW WHAT IS BASIC DIFFERENCE B/W RIFFLED VS SHOTGUN
Image
NOW KNOW WHAT TYPE OF PROJECTILE IS USED IN FIREARMS
Image
FIGURE GIVEN BELOW WILL SHOW U THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GUNPOWDER USED IN
PROJECTILES:
Image
SOME IMPORTANT POINTS :
1. In smooth bore weapons range of fire can roughly be calculated by formula RANGE( IN METRE ) =
D( IN cm) / 3 [ here D = maxm distance between outermost individual pellet]
eg if wounds inflicted by pellets is 20 cm apart then range of fire is about 7metre so we may conclude that
this is not likely to be suicidal.
2] RICOCHET BULLET : strikes an intervening object first and then rebounds/ ricochets towards target.
3] TANDEM BULLET or PIGGY BACK BULLET : Two bullets are ejected in same shot one after other.
4] YAWNING BULLET : Which travel in an irregular fashion and produces KEY HOLE ENTRY WOUND.
5] DUMDUM BULLET : A jacketed bullet with its nose cut off and it expands on impact.

6] SOUVENIR BULLET : If a bullet is left in body for long time it gets surrounded by fibrous tissue and is
calles as souvenir bullet.
7] PARADOX SHOT GUNS : These have small portion of their muzzle end riffled
8] TRACER BULLET: Bullet leaves a visible mark or TRACE while in flight, due to which the gunner can
observe the strike of the shot.
9]INCENDIARY BULLET: Bullet contain phosphorous, so that it catches fire on hitting the target.