Forensic Medicine

Forum Romanum, the place where the life of ancient Roman society was concentrated, gave its name to the forensic sciences that, while remaining rooted in their basic sciences, have a completely different goal. This goal is to provide expertise with evidential value in various legal proceedings. This goal also refers to forensic medicine, sometimes called legal medicine. It is not to treat the patient but to provide expertise.

It is impossible to indicate a specific date for the emergence of forensic medicine. It is known that medical knowledge was used for forensic purposes already in ancient times. Still, forensic medicine can only be spoken of as a separate academic discipline since the beginning of the 19th century. It surfaced in the process of the gradual emergence of various medical specialties when - along with the development of medical knowledge - it became apparent that grasping the whole thing exceeded the capabilities of one person, and specialization was necessary. As time passed, various subspecialties began to emerge from the originally broad forensic medicine, and this process is still ongoing. Both historically and today, the scope of forensic medicine was and is determined by the law currently in force in a given country. However, two branches are recognized worldwide. These are forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine.

We invite review, original, and case reports from all areas of forensic medicine to the topic collection on "Forensic Medicine" in our emerging journal Perspectives in Legal and Forensic Sciences. We want to show the current state of knowledge and research possibilities in specific expertise.