Core Course
Credits: 4
Instructor: Dr. Suzanne Utley
This course will teach students the fundamentals of forensic pathology within the context of crime scene investigation. Postmortem changes will be evaluated and differentiated from antemortem wounds. Students will be taught how to evaluate wounds and patterns of injury and will learn how to associate these findings at autopsy with evidence and circumstances identified at the crime scene.
Objectives:
- Understand the fundamental concepts of forensic pathology as it applies to crime scene investigation.
- Explain the steps involved in a typical forensic autopsy.
- Distinguish between postmortem changes and antemortem wounds.
- Identify patterns of injury that may be useful in a crime scene investigation for determining cause, manner, and mechanism of death.
- Understand common natural causes of death and how they differ from suspicious deaths.
- Identify disease processes or other contributing factors to cause of death.
Topics:
Modules |
Topic |
| Module 1 | The Forensic Autopsy |
| Module 2 | Forensic Pathology and Histology Techniques |
| Module 3 | Post Injury Intervals and Trauma Analysis |
| Module 4 | Natural Deaths |
| Module 5 | Cardiac, Pulmonary, and Neurologic Diseases |
| Module 6 | Infectious Diseases |
| Module 7 | Suspicious Deaths |
| Module 8 | Poisons and Toxins |
| Module 9 | Drugs of Abuse |
| Module 10 | Environmental Deaths |