Course Introduction

MODULE 1 – FORENSIC MEDICINE AND INDIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

In this module, you will gain an overview of forensic medicine and how it integrates with the Indian legal system, inquest procedures and exhumation processes, and the steps and precautions involved in medicolegal autopsies. You will also gain relevant knowledge about how to conduct autopsies in diverse forensic scenarios, like obscure death cases, anaphylactic fatalities, and artifact-related deaths.

MODULE 2 – MEDICOLEGAL EXAMINATION IN SEXUAL OFFENCES

This module focuses on the medicolegal examination of both victims and offenders involved in sexual offenses, the classification of sexual offenses, the offense of rape, and the crucial implications of consent or non-consent. You will also learn how to provide expert opinions in such cases and will also explore child abuse, the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act), and its relevant amendments.

MODULE 3 – DEATH AND ITS MEDICOLEGAL ASPECTS

In this module, you will learn about forensic thanatology, along with different types of death, like somatic, molecular, and brain death, and their medicolegal implications. This module also covers mode, manner, mechanism, cause of death, and ways to estimate the time since death by examining the immediate, early, and late changes that occur after death. A basic understanding of death-related medicolegal issues, like postmortem staining and bruising, hypostasis and congestion, rigor mortis, and cadaveric spasm, is also provided.

MODULE 4 – DEATHS ASSOCIATED WITH SURGERY, ANAESTHESIA, CUSTODY, AND ASPHYXIA

This module focuses on the types of deaths that occur in specific contexts, like surgery, including the risks associated with surgical procedures. You will also learn about anesthesia- and blood transfusion-related deaths, custodial deaths, and asphyxial deaths and their different types. You will gain knowledge about the role forensic medicine plays in investigating these cases and the legal aspects associated with them.

MODULE 5 – THERMAL DEATHS, BURNS, AND HYPOTHERMIA

In this module, you will learn about deaths due to extreme temperatures, i.e., thermal deaths, which include heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke. This module also focuses on the classification of burns and the Rule of Nine, which is a tool to assess burn severity, along with the medicolegal considerations in these cases, especially dowry deaths. You will gain knowledge about hypothermia, the pathophysiology of this condition, and autopsy findings associated with deaths due to extreme cold.

MODULE 6 – ELECTROCUTION AND LIGHTNING-RELATED DEATHS

This module explores deaths caused by electrocution and autopsy findings associated with both 'medium-tension' and 'high-tension' electrical currents. You will learn about the joule burn concept, also known as endogenous burn. This module also covers electrocution circumstances, like iatrogenic (medical procedure-related) and judicial (execution) electrocutions. Also, you will gain insights about lighting strike-related injuries and deaths.

MODULE 7 – INFANTICIDE AND FOETICIDE

In this module, you will gain knowledge about infanticide and foeticide, related laws, and the legal aspects surrounding these crimes. You will explore the concepts of live birth and separate existence and their interpretation in a medicolegal context. This module also covers details about the hydrostatic test and its importance in determining live birth and determining evidence in infanticide and foeticide cases.

MODULE 8 – INJURIES - MEDICOLEGAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TYPES

This module focuses on injuries from a medicolegal perspective and the difference between antemortem and postmortem wounds, crucial for forensic investigations. It also covers the major sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to offenses against the human body and provides an in-depth understanding of the legal aspects surrounding injuries and their implications in forensic medicine.

MODULE 9 – INJURIES BY BLUNT FORCE, ABRASION, SHARP FORCE, AND FIREARMS

In this module, you gain insights about types of injuries and their causes, like blunt force, abrasion, sharp force, and firearms. This module also focuses on characteristics and factors that result in the creation of abrasions, bruises (contusions), and incised wounds like bevelled cuts and hesitation cuts, along with an overview of firearm-related injuries.

MODULE 10 – INJURIES BY EXPLOSIVES, REGIONAL INJURIES, AND TRANSPORTATION INJURIES

This module explores injuries caused by explosives, regional injuries, injuries of the scalp, fractures of the skull, and the procedures for producing cerebral injuries, as well as the medicolegal considerations related to coup and contrecoup injuries. You will also gain knowledge about transportation accident-related injuries and knowledge of these aspects from a forensic medicine perspective.

MODULE 11 – MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND LEGAL ASPECTS

In this module, you will learn about medical negligence, like cases of mistaken diagnosis and errors in clinical judgment. This module also highlights various aspects of negligence, like contributory negligence, vicarious liability, medical product liability, and the criminalization of negligence, along with the legal framework in India, i.e., the Consumer Protection Act, which relates to medical negligence for both healthcare professionals and patients.

MODULE 12 – CONSENT TO AND REFUSAL OF TREATMENT, INCLUDING EUTHANASIA

This module explores how to obtain consent for medical treatment, the scope of consent, and the role of hospitals in this process. You will also learn about the decision-making concept for patients along with legal provisions such as Sections 53, 53A, and 164A of the CrPC concerning consent. This module further explores topics like doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia and the ethical, legal, and medical dimensions surrounding these issues.

MODULE 13 – IDENTIFICATION TECHNIQUES IN MEDICOLEGAL CASES

In this module, you will gain insights about identification methods in medicolegal cases, like assessment of complete and incomplete identities, dentition significance, and age determination through bone ossification activity. This module also covers dactylography (fingerprint analysis), the application of 3D technology for physical fit determination, and forensic facial reconstruction, highlighting the role of emerging techniques used in forensic identification.

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