Forensic science is the application of the natural sciences to matters of the law. It includes a variety of different activities and specialties. In practice forensic science draws upon the principles and methods of all the traditional sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. The term forensic science is sometimes used as a synonym for criminalistics.
Sometimes called simply forensics, forensic science encompasses many different fields of science , including anthropology , biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, medicine , pathology , phonetics, psychiatry, and toxicology .
The related term criminalistics refers more specifically to the scientific collection and analysis of physical evidence in criminal cases. This includes the analysis of many kinds of materials, including blood, fibers, bullets, and fingerprints. Many law enforcement agencies operate crime labs that perform scientific studies of evidence. The largest of these labs is run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Forensic scientists often present expert testimony to courts, as in the case of pathologists who testify on causes of death and engineers who testify on causes of damage from equipment failure, fires, or explosions.
Modern forensic science originated in the late nineteenth century, when European criminal investigators began to use fingerprinting and other identification techniques to solve crimes. As the field of science expanded in scope throughout the twentieth century, its application to legal issues became more and more common. Because nearly every area of science has a potential bearing on the law, the list of areas within forensic science is long.
Forensics involves the method of collecting and analysing evidence then using the results to help solve crimes. This can involve the analysis of fingerprints or footprints, bite marks, DNA, blood, semen, saliva, hair, fibres, handwriting and even voice identification. Examining the scene of the crime and pathological examinations are also essential to forensic science.
Today it is not fully clear just when forensic science was created, as so much information around these days is unreliable. But whenever it was that forensic science was born, a world was opened up that now allows us to solve crimes that, less than a century ago, could not have been solved. Even now we are still discovering new techniques that better our methods of forensic science, and over time more methods will become available to us.
Methods of the study in forensic science
General medical methods
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Methods from adjacent disciplines
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Gathering of anamnesis
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Gathering of kathamnesis
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Methods of the laboratories
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Blood tests
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Urinalysis
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Biochemical tests
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Ro-methods
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Ultrasonic methods
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Mathematician-statistical analysis
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Biological methods
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Botanical methods
Specific methods
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Autopsy (postmortem examination)
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Method of experimental modeling
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Fracturologic analysis
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Method to identifications private characteristics and mechanism of damaging action
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Determination identity of an unknown person
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Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry