Summary:

Twenty-five years have passed since Cyril Polson last updated his classic text Essentials of Forensic Medicine, and the much-anticipated new edition is now available.  Maintaining the distinctive and popular case-based approach of the original editions, but thoroughly revised to reflect modern twenty-first century practice, this fifth edition presents the reader with a united pathological and clinical perspective of all aspects of forensic medicine for the forensic practitioner and those working in allied disciplines.

The editors have brought together an unparalleled team of chapter authors, each of whom is an acknowledged expert in their particular field.

• Completely revised and updated for the twenty-first century practice of forensic medicine

• Highly illustrated in full colour and accompanied by a CD-ROM image library

• Edited by an international team of experts drawn from the fields of both forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine         

• Over XX case studies appear throughout the text to illustrate key points           

Table of Contents:
Section 1: General Forensic Pathology
Death investigation and forensic medicine – 4000 words - no illustrations.
The medicolegal autopsy 4000 words – 20 illustrations
The pathologist at the scene – 4000 words 15 illustrations
Cause, mechanism and manner of death – 4000 words – no illustrations
Decomposition and time of death – 6000 words 20 illustrations
Identification – 5000 words 20 illustrations
General forensic histopathology 5000 words 15 illustrations
The histopathology of injury 5000 words 30 illustrations
General forensic neuropathology 4000 20 illustrations
Forensic science for the pathologist – 5000 words – 15 illustrations
Forensic aspects of the skeleton – 4000 words 20 illustrations
Forensic aspect of artifacts 4000 – 15 illustrations
The pathologist and ethics – 4000 words – no illustrations
Section 2: Pathology of Un-natural Death
Pathology of blunt impact trauma – 8000 words 30 illustrations
Pathology of trauma from sharp instruments – 5000 words – 20 illustrations
Pathology of firearms injury – 5000 words – 20 illustrations
Rapid anoxial death (asphyxia) 5000 words – 20 illustrations
Pressure on the neck – 8000 words – 20 illustrations
Pathology of anogenital injury – 4000 words – 15 illustrations
Drowning and death in water 4000 words – 15 illustrations
Pathology of death at the extremes of temperature – 5000 words – 20 illustrations
Section 3: Special Forensic Pathology
Pathology of explosive injury – 4000 words – 10 illustrations
Pathology of fatal descent from height 3000 words– 10 illustrations
Pathology of death in vehicular collision 5000 words– 15 illustrations
Sudden natural death of adults – 6000 words – 20 illustrations
Sudden peripartum death – 4000 words – 10 illustrations
Sudden death of the newborn 4000 words 15 illustrations
Sudden natural death of infants and children 4000 word 5 illustrations
Fatal physical abuse of infants and children 4000 words 20 illustrations
Fatal head injury in infants and children – 4000 words 10 illustrations
Vertebral artery injury – 4000 words 8 illustrations
Sudden death during sport and exertion 4000 words 10 illustrations
Death in custody and torture 5000 words 15 illustrations
Death in the industrial workplace – 4000 words 10 illustrations
Death from therapeutic complications – 6000 words 10 illustrations
Alcohol and forensic medicine – 6000 words – 6 illustrations
Death from illicit drug use – 6000 words – 10 illustrations
Death from poisoning- 6000 words – 6 illustrations
Mass incidents and natural disasters – 4000 10 illustrations
Unascertained cause of death – 4000 words – no illustrations
The pathologist and the criminal justice system – 5000 words- no illustrations
Section 4 (Appendix): Special dissections for medicolegal autopsies
Each up to 1000 words and up to 6 illustrations
Dissection of the anterior neck
Dissection of the posterior neck
Dissection of the posterior torso and limbs
Removal of the extracranial vertebral arteries
Dissection of the perineum and pelvic organs
Removal and dissection of the eyes
Examination and sampling of fixed specimens

About the Author(s):
Prof Christopher Milroy - Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

Prof Michael Pollanen - Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario and Forensic Science Program, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Prof David Wells - Head of Clinical Forensic Medicine, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and Honorary Assoc Prof, Dept of Forensic Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

Readership:
Core: Forensic clinicians, forensic pathologists, police surgeons/medical examiners. Supplementary: Medical students, lawyers.