04/10/2024
Forensic odontology is a significant outgrowth of forensic medicinal sciences and, in the felicity of justice, pacts with the apt examination, handling and demonstration of dental evidence in the court of law. It plays a pivotal role in identifying the human remains of victims, not only those of mutilated, burnt and decomposed but also victims of bioterrorism and mass disasters. Catastrophic events have also underlined the importance of forensic odontologists in the identification of victims from industrial blows, airline accidents, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks including that of explosive, chemical, radiological or nuclear, and may occur as a solitary catastrophe or sweeping event. Forensic odontology plays a crucial role in circumstances where habitual methods of identification, such as fingerprinting and visual recognition, cannot be performed in cases of decomposed, charred or skeletonized bodies. Dental professionals are called upon to assist in the event of a major disaster, including diagnosis and monitoring, referral, decontamination, infection control, surveillance and notification, immunizations, medications, triage, and medical care augmentation.
Whilst it may be unpleasant, the autopsy examination of decomposing bodies is a rewarding task that will usually reveal the cause of death when performed with care. After death, the body undergoes a series of putrefactive decompositional changes in a predictable order, unless conditions favouring desiccation/mummification or adipocere formation intervene. All three decompositional changes may be present in the same body. Determining the postmortem interval in such bodies is fraught with difficulty. A systemic approach to the adult autopsy, coupled with an awareness of the limitations imposed by putrefaction on postmortem computed tomography, external examination, dissection findings and ancillary investigations is essential, and is presented in this Webinar.
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