Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
This impressive four-volume vade mecum (reference manual), which includes contributions from 279 authors from 21 countries, is both comprehensive and timely. It has arrived when forensic medicine and forensic science have been all but eliminated from the medical-school curriculum, even as the public's interest in such information has burgeoned. This interest has been stimulated by the magic of DNA and other new scientific techniques, the widely televised O.J. Simpson trial, the popular television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and the quest for appealing stories by 24-hour cable news channels.
In 1849, Harvard Medical School was the site of the first murder in the United States for which forensic evidence was introduced at trial. This evidence, to identify the remains of Professor George Parkman from dental fragments recovered from the school's furnace, led to the conviction of John Webster, a professor of chemistry, who was hanged shortly thereafter. The school's department of legal medicine was dissolved in 1966.
The Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine contains 293 separate entries, arranged alphabetically, of approximately 4000 words each. These well-edited entries are essentially short courses on topics ranging from alcohol, anthropology, ballistics, crime-scene investigation, deaths in custody, DNA, hair toxicology, and psychiatry to expert-witness testimony, legal aspects of clinical trials, sexual offenses, terrorism, and war crimes. Recent events have made the chapters on human rights, torture, Sharii'ah law, and Chinese law particularly topical and useful. The book is well illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs.
As one would expect of the first edition of a multiauthored work, there are some minor glitches. A few sections are too long, and others require more substance. In the instructive section on medical malpractice, the discussion of obstetrical and gynecologic issues apparently did not arrive in time to be included. The editors promise that such shortcomings will be corrected and that the encyclopedia will be periodically updated in its online version; these updates will be improved by suggestions from readers about the rapidly evolving forensic sciences. The editors also may wish to include the qualifications of each contributor, not just the place of his or her work.
In the encyclopedia's preface, the editors explain that its "cumbersome" title is meant to recognize that in some countries, "forensic medicine" is considered to involve only physicians, and "legal medicine" is considered to involve only lawyers. This work is intended to be of value internationally to physicians, attorneys, students, and teachers of biology, chemistry, and science at the high-school, college, and graduate-school levels. It succeeds wonderfully, and at minimum, it allows the reader to review issues raised in the latest episode of the television series Crossing Jordan before he or she is questioned about them by patients, friends, or relatives.
Michael M. Baden, M.D.
New York State Police
Albany, NY 12226(Edited by Jason Payne-Jam)
In 1849, Harvard Medical School was the site of the first murder in the United States for which forensic evidence was introduced at trial. This evidence, to identify the remains of Professor George Parkman from dental fragments recovered from the school's furnace, led to the conviction of John Webster, a professor of chemistry, who was hanged shortly thereafter. The school's department of legal medicine was dissolved in 1966.
The Encyclopedia of Forensic and Legal Medicine contains 293 separate entries, arranged alphabetically, of approximately 4000 words each. These well-edited entries are essentially short courses on topics ranging from alcohol, anthropology, ballistics, crime-scene investigation, deaths in custody, DNA, hair toxicology, and psychiatry to expert-witness testimony, legal aspects of clinical trials, sexual offenses, terrorism, and war crimes. Recent events have made the chapters on human rights, torture, Sharii'ah law, and Chinese law particularly topical and useful. The book is well illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs.
As one would expect of the first edition of a multiauthored work, there are some minor glitches. A few sections are too long, and others require more substance. In the instructive section on medical malpractice, the discussion of obstetrical and gynecologic issues apparently did not arrive in time to be included. The editors promise that such shortcomings will be corrected and that the encyclopedia will be periodically updated in its online version; these updates will be improved by suggestions from readers about the rapidly evolving forensic sciences. The editors also may wish to include the qualifications of each contributor, not just the place of his or her work.
In the encyclopedia's preface, the editors explain that its "cumbersome" title is meant to recognize that in some countries, "forensic medicine" is considered to involve only physicians, and "legal medicine" is considered to involve only lawyers. This work is intended to be of value internationally to physicians, attorneys, students, and teachers of biology, chemistry, and science at the high-school, college, and graduate-school levels. It succeeds wonderfully, and at minimum, it allows the reader to review issues raised in the latest episode of the television series Crossing Jordan before he or she is questioned about them by patients, friends, or relatives.
Michael M. Baden, M.D.
New York State Police
Albany, NY 12226(Edited by Jason Payne-Jam)