The Curriculum Outline of Forensic Medicine for Nepalese Medical Student

Total hours 108 Theory 72 Practice 36

Chapter Contents Total hours Theory Practice

Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1
Chapter 2 Forensic pathology 47 26 21
Chapter 3 Clinical forensic medicine 36 27 9
Chapter 4 Poisoning and poison assay 3 3
Chapter 5 Forensic physical evidance 18 12 6
Chapter 6 Forensic psychiatry 3 3
Total 108 72 36

Introduction of Forensic Medicine

Forensic medicine is to describe all aspects of forensic work – including both
forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine, etc. It mainly research and revolve
problems concerning of medicine which result from judicial practices using theories
and techniques of medicine, biology and other science.

The teaching of theory

Chapter 1 Introduction 1 hours
(1) Grasp the basic branches of forensic medical system.
(2) Well know the general pattern for medical witness and medical reports and
statements. And also know the task of forensic medicine.
(3) Understand the behaviour of a doctor in cases related with forensic medicine.
Chapter 2 Forensic pathology 20 hours
Section 1 Death and postmortem phenomena 5 hours
(1) Grasp how to diagnose brain-stem death. Grasp definition, course and type of
death. Grasp algor mortis, hypostasis and rigor mortis.
(2) Well know the role of the death certification and medical notes in
investigation of death. Well know all definitions, manifestation and forensic
significance of early and late postmortem phenomena. Well know morphological
manifestation and significance of autolyze, and learn to distinguish autolyze and
necrosis. Well know material marks of various postmortem phenomena which are
used to estimate time since death.
(3) Understand the medical and social significance of brain death. Understand
the importance of injury and disease in cause of death. Understand shortage of new
methods and development used to deduce time since death.
Emphasis: brain-stem death, postmortem phenomena, the difference of autolyze
and necrosis.
Difficulties: analysis of injury and disease in cause of death.
Contents: death, postmortem phenomena, deduction of time since death.
Section 2 Mechanical injury 12 hours

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 (1) Master exam principle of mechanical injury. Master the basic forms of
various injury, including definition, basic manifestation and forensic significance.
Master how to distinguish blunt instrument injury and sharp instrument injury, how to
distinguish incised wound and chop wound. Master features of entrance of bullet.
Master how to diagnose pathological and traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. Master
basic principle of analyzing the relation of injury and disease.
(2) Well know basic injury types and manifestation caused by traffic accident.
Well know the identification of mechanical injury (ascertainment of cause of death,
deduction of wounding instrument, deduction of time since injury, ascertainment of
quality of case). Well know the relation of injury and disease. Well know the
definition of absolute mortal injury, conditional mortal injury, and inducement.
(3) Understand the basic types of explosive injury. Understand the basic
conformation and characters of falling injury.
Emphasis: definition, basic manifestation and forensic significance of various
injury, especially bullet wound. The distinguish of blunt instrument injury and sharp
instrument injury.
Difficulties: distinguish antemortem injury from postmortem injury, analyzing
the relation of injury and disease.
Contents: types of injury, forensic appraising of injury and death.
Section 3 Mechanical asphyxia 3 hours
(1) Master definition and types of mechanical asphyxia. Master definition,
distinguish and outline of forensic identification of death from hanging and
strangulation by litgature. Master definition, injury characters of neck and forensic
identification of manual stragulation.
(2) Well know general pathological changes of mechanical asphyxia. Well know
mechanism of death from hanging and strangulation by litgature. Well know the
definition, mechanism and manifestation of drowning. Well the evaluation of result of
diatom checking.
(3) Understand definition and types of asphyxia. Understand the way of diatom
checking. Understand the definition and feature of sexual asphyxia.
Emphasis: death from hanging, strangulation by litgature, manual stragulation.
Difficulties: distinguish death from hanging from strangulation by litgature,
differentiation of death before falling in water and death after falling in water.
Contents: various asphyxia, drowning, etc.
Section 4 Injury of heat, cold and electricity 3 hours
(1) Master body changes of antemortem death from burning. Master the features
and forensic significance of electric mark.
(2) Well know burns and frostbite. Well know electric mark and its effect to
body.
(3) Understand the differentiation gist of antemortem death from burning and
postmortem burning. Understand features of death from lightning.
Emphasis: body changes of antemortem death from burning, electric mark.
Difficulties: the differentiation gist of antemortem death from burning and
postmortem burning.

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 Contents: burns, death from burning, frostbite, death from cold, heatstroke,
electrical injury and death from lightning.
Section 5 Sudden death 3 hours
(1) Master definition of sudden death.
(2) Well know the features, cause and incidence of sudden death. Well know the
features of each organic system which is prone to sudden death.
Emphasis: how to analyze the cause of sudden death.
Difficulties: how to analyze the cause of sudden death.
Contents: sudden death and commonly seen diseases caused sudden death.
Chapter 2 Clinical forensic 27 hours
Section 1 Clinical forensic examination 3 hours
(1) Master the importance of doctor’ role in clinical forensic examination. Master
the notes of medical documents and testing.
(2) Well know the measure of body wane or deformity and scar area.
(3) Understand character of medical documents.
Emphasis: testimony of medical documents.
Difficulties: measure of body wane or deformity and scar area.
Contents: details of a case, medical documents and physical examination and
diagnosis.
Section 2 Identification of living injury 3 hours
(1) Master medical behaviours and sequels of injury. Master differentiation of
self-injury, other-injury and accident injury. Master attention of assessing of degree of
injury.
(2) Well know estimation and ascertaining of instrument, deduction of time since
injury. Well know appraising principle and time limit of assessing of degree of injury.
(3)Understand complication of injury. Understand grade of injury.
Emphasis: differentiation of self-injury, other-injury and accident injury.
Difficulties: Master attention of assessing of degree of injury.
Contents: injury, deduction of instrument, time since injury and degree of injury.
Section 3 Assessing of loss of labour ability 3 hours
(1) Master definition and types of loss of labour ability, disability and invalid.
(2) Well know the objects and tasks of clinical forensic examination.
(3) Understand significance, principle and relating laws and regulations.
Difficulties: usage of law and regulation when assessing degree of injuy.
Contents: appraising of labour ability
Section 4 Be released on bail for medical treatment, custody and restraint
injury 3 hours
(1) Master definition and principle of being released on bail for medical
treatment.
(2) Well know the cause and manifestation of custody and restraint injury.
(2) Understand produce of being released on bail for medical treatment.
Understand common seen causes of custody and restraint injury.
Emphasis: be released on bail for medical treatment.
Contents: being released on bail for medical treatment, custody and restraint

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 injury.
Section 5 sexual crime and other sexual problems 3 hours
(1) Master definition, clinical forensic examination, appraising procedure and
aftereffect of rape.
(2) Well know collection of testimony of rape.
(3) Understand sexual dysfunction, lewd behaviour and sexual metamorphosis.
Emphasis: examination of rape.
Contents: rape and lewd, etc.
Section 6 Abuse 3 hours
(1) Master definition and forensic examination of abuse. Master type and feature
of child and old abuse.
(2) Well know ignore.
(3) Understand the mentality and character of abusing person.
Emphasis: character and examination of abuse.
Difficulties: ascertaining of covert abuse.
Contents: abuse and ignore.
Section 7 Pregnancy, parturition and abortion 3 hours
(1) Master traumatic abortion.
(2) Well know diagnosis of pregnancy(early, middle and late). Well know
diagnosis, injury and death resulting from course of parturition. Well know illegal
termination of pregnancy.
(3) Understand assisted reproductive techniques(ART).
Emphasis: traumatic abortion.
Difficulties: analysis of disease or injury among causes of abotion.
Contents: pregnancy, parturition and abortion
Section 8 Alcohol and drug abuse 3 hours
(1) Master definition of drug abuse and drug addiction. Master metabolism of
alcohol. Master forensic examination of freak-out and testing of alcohol.
(2) Well know commonly seen abusing drugs and theirs clinical diagnosis.
(3) Understand the harm of alcohol and drug abuse
Emphasis: channel of alcohol metabolizing, forensic examination of freak-out.
Difficulties: metabolism of alcohol.
Contents: alcohol, drugs
Section 9 Medical tangle 3 hours
(1) Master definition, character, type and grading principle of medical
negligence.
(2) Well know definition of medical tangle, medical error, medical accident and
illegal practice medicine.
(3) Understand dealing procedure and principle of medical tangle.
Emphasis: medical tangle.
Difficulties: medical tangle.
Contents: medical tangle and its appraising.
Chapter 4 Poisoning and poisons assay 3 hours
(1) Master gist of forensic identification of poisoning.

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 (2) Well know poisons, poisoning and analyzing of poisons. Well know type,
characters, drawing request, analyzing principle and assessing of results of the
material.
(3) Understand types and pharmacological characters.
Emphasis: identification of poisoning.
Difficulties: drawing and analyzing of poisons
Contents: various poisons.
Chapter 5 Forensic physical evidance 12 hours
Section1 Human genetic markers and identification in disputed paternity 6hours
(1) Master definition, task, object and range of identification in disputed
paternity. Master basic principium and ways of identification in disputed paternity and
paternity negation.
(2) Well know definition and kinds of human genetic markers. Well know the
selective application of genetic markers in identification in disputed paternity and
person identification.
(3) Understand genetic law of human genetic markers. Understand chance of
paternity.
Emphasis: identification in disputed paternity and paternity negation.
Difficulties: identification in disputed paternity and paternity negation.
Contents: human genetic markers and identification in disputed paternity
Section 2 Physical evidence and person identification 6 hours
(1) Master definition, task, object and range of physical evidence and person
identification. Master basic principle of examination of physical specimens.
(2) Well know the basic principle of find, drawing, package and delivering of
physical evidence.
(3) Understand the testing procedure and evaluating of results of blood stains,
seminal stains, mixture stains, saliva stains, skeleton, hair, organic fragment, etc.
Emphasis: person identification.
Difficulties: person identification.
Contents: various ways of person identification.
Chapter 6 Forensic psychiatry, ability and its assessing of psycho 3 hours
(1) Master definition, objects and task of forensic psychiatry.
(2) Understand the gist and procedure of appraising of forensic psychiatry.
Understand the assessing criterion of criminal responsible ability and civil behaviour
ability.

The teaching of practice

(1) Arrangement of practice and cognition of autopsy instruments 3 hours
Master name, usage and function of autopsy instruments.
Understand arrangement and request of practice.
(2) Video of autopsy 3 hours
Master the examination of corpse before autopsy. Master how to do autopsy.
Well know how to sign the agreement before autopsy.
Understand how to deal with the corpse after autopsy.

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(3) Certification of forensic pathological autopsy 3 hours
Master the style of certification of forensic pathological autopsy.
Well know analyzing ways of cause of death.
(4) Certification of clinical forensic examination 3 hours
Master the style of certification of clinical forensic examination.
Well know analyzing ways of appraising results.
(5) Test of inury (sharp instrument injury, blunt instrument injury and firearm
wound, etc) 3 hours
Master features of various injuries. Master how to differentiate sharp instrument
injury and blunt instrument injury. Master how to differentiate entrance and exit
of firearm wound.
Well know estimation of instrument causing injury.
Understand estimation of time since injury.
(6) Test of diatom 3 hours
Master ways and significance of diatom test.
Well know the morphology of diatom.
(7) Case discussion of cardiovascular system 3 hours
Master how to observe slides. Master the diagnosis of arteriosclerosis.
Well know the pathological manifestation of commonly seen diseases of
cardiovascular system.
Well know the clinical manifestation of commonly seen diseases of
cardiovascular system.
(8) Case discussion of skull and cerebral injury 3 hours
Master diagnosis of cerebral hemorrhage.
Well know commonly seen types and pathological manifestation of skull
and cerebral injury.
Understand the mechanism of skull and cerebral injury.
(9) Clinical forensic examination of body wane and deformity and writing
certification 3 hours
Master how to exam body wane and deformity.
Understand commonly seen causes of body wane and deformity.
(10) Clinical forensic examination of face scar and writing certification 3 hours
Master how to exam face scar.
Well know types of scar.
Understand commonly seen causes of face injury.
(11) Test of red type 3 hours
Master red type and how to test it.
Well know the significance of testing of red type.
(12) Test of hair 3 hours
Master how to test hair.
Well know the significance of testing of hair.

Key reference material: Forensic pathology, Forensic Medicine(Pathological and

Clinical Aspects)

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Examination: Theory Examination