[...]... examiner to perform autopsies without the authority of the district attorney It was not until 19 45 that the Massachusetts law was amended to make performance of autopsies discretionary with the medical examiner The New York medical examiner system actually took effect in 19 18 and was also the American birthplace of the discipline of toxicology, with the establishment of a toxicology laboratory under... the system was created in 18 77 Its purposes were to elevate the status of the medical examiner’s office to assist him in the discharge of his duties, to collect and utilize such facts as have medicolegal value, to excite a 19 97 CRC Press LLC general interest in the subject of forensic medicine, and to promote its successful cultivation Every member was required to forward to the corresponding secretary... University He contributed heavily to the use of photography in the forensic sciences and established one of the world’s earliest crime laboratories that served the academic community and the Swiss police His interests included photography of crime scenes, corpses, and blood stains He made a trip to Brazil in 19 13, where his experience in criminalistics was presented to the western hemisphere for the... German men in the early 19 00s were instrumental in advancing the forensic sciences Paul Jeserich, developer of forensic chemistry and active in toxicology, studied blood stains by applying the precipitin test of Uhlenhuth to identify human blood Attempts were made to compare bullets in his laboratory as early as 18 98 He further investigated textiles and applied spectrographic analysis to evidence examination... crime laboratory to a year of special training in forensic pathology and special certification for pathologists already board certified in general pathology Specialized education for forensic pathologists has been available for less than 30 years Certification is the final acknowledgment of training and experience This has only recently been achieved in forensic toxicology, forensic odontology, and forensic. .. air Toxicologic analysis of organs in human bodies rarely was done before 19 00 because of the primitive development of the system for medicolegal investigation Elected coroners were laymen with little scientific knowledge It took the change in the system of medicolegal investigation in Massachusetts in 18 77 and in New York City in 19 18 to reintroduce the importance of adequate postmortem toxicology to. .. investigation If a case received notoriety and an examination for poison was needed, the coroner sought the services of a professor of chemistry During the 18 90s, Dr Alexander O Gettler noted in his review of the history of toxicology 21 that it took one of these professors 20 months to analyze the organs of one postmortem case Gettler, the major force behind the development of forensic toxicology in America,... of innovation and research and have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of modern forensic toxicology Gettler taught most of the major forensic toxicologists of the next generation These include Dr Sidney Kaye, the toxicologist in the Virginia Medical Examiner System and later the Chief Toxicologist of Puerto Rico; 25 Dr 19 97 CRC Press LLC Charles Umberger, the chief Medical Examiner of... addition to anthropometric identification, Bertillon was 19 97 CRC Press LLC also involved with various means of documentation by photography, which he developed to a fine science for criminalistics when he photographed crime scenes and formulated a technique of contact photography to demonstrate erasing on documents He employed casting techniques for tool marks and used comparison methods to establish... appointed to assist him The abstract of the autopsy published in the minutes of the Provincial Council dated July 30, 16 91, reads: The Doctors and Chirurgeons appointed to view the late Governours Body, pursueant to the order of this board returned under their hands and seales, that the late Gouvernour dyed of a defect of his blood and lungs occasioned by some glutinous tough humor in the blood which stopped . h0" alt="" Introduction to Forensic Sciences 2nd Edition WILLIAM G. ECKERT CRC Press Boca Raton New York London Tokyo 810 1_fm_frame Page i Wednesday, August 7, 2002 10 :16 AM Publisher:. Editor Contributors Acknowledgments 1 Introduction to Forensic Sciences WILLIAM G. ECKERT 2 Historical Development of Forensic Sciences WILLIAM G. ECKERT 3 The Role of the Forensic. giving them an insight into a fascinating and rewarding field. 810 1_fm_frame Page xi Wednesday, August 7, 2002 10 :16 AM 19 97 CRC Press LLC 1 Introduction to the Forensic Sciences WILLIAM