Loyola University New Orleans - FRSC-A380-Z51: FORENSIC PATHOLOGY SPRING 2019

Loyola University New Orleans
          FRSC-A380-Z51: FORENSIC PATHOLOGY
                      SPRING 2019
Instructor: Marianna Eserman, M.D.
Email address: horizonforensics@gmail.com
Appointments: By prior arrangement or before/after class
Day/Time: Thursdays, 600pm- 1020pm
Classroom: Monroe Hall 529

Course Description: This course will introduce the student to the medical specialty of Forensic
Pathology –the practice of laboratory medicine as it applies to the law and legal issues. The
initial portion of the course will deal with basics of forensic science and death investigat ion.
Subsequent lectures deal with postmortem changes, time of death and identification of the
decedent, as well as discussion of the various types of cases which fall under the jurisdict ion
of the medical examiner/coroner including violent, natural and unexplained deaths. The course
will conclude with a lecture on the role of related disciplines in forensic science (including
toxicology, anthropology, odontology, entomology and criminalistics) in aiding the forensic
pathologist in the performance of their duties –determination of the cause and manner of death,
identification of the decedent, estimation of the time of death and preservation and collection
of evidence at autopsy. Autopsy attendance may be available with prior arrangement.

Course Goal: To provide the student        an overview of death investigation and the forensic
autopsy, and to discuss the significance   of these in the resolution of family issues, in the public
health system and in criminal and civil     court proceedings including preservation of the chain
of evidence from the scene to the court    room.

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:
       • Define pathology, forensic pathology, and autopsy
       • List the various disciplines in the field of forensic science
       • List and recognize cases which require medicolegal death investigation
       • Describe and understand the medicolegal death investigation systems in the U.S.
       specifically the differences between the medical examiner and coroner systems
       • State the duty of the medical examiner/coroner
       • Define cause of death and the manner of death (define each)
       • State the difference between the proximate cause of death and the immediate cause
       of death
       • Identify postmortem changes and be able to differentiate these from antemortem
       lesions
       • Describe methods of identification of the decedent
       • Discuss methods used to approximate the time of death
       • List and discuss natural disease processes which can result in sudden/unexpected
       death in adults and children

• Recognize external evidence of blunt force trauma, sharp force trauma, firearm
       injuries, thermal injuries, and electrical injuries
       • Differentiate blunt force injuries from sharp force injuries
       • Recognize firearm residue on the skin or an interposed target such as the clothes
       • Determine the range of fire based on the presence or absence of firearm residue
       • Define asphyxia and be familiar with the types of cases, which may be classified as
       asphyxia
       • Discuss proper investigation of electrical deaths
       • State the difference between high voltage and low voltage electrocution, associated
       physical findings, and mechanism of death
       • Discuss investigation of environmental deaths
       • Discuss the need for and proper procedures for investigation of pediatric deaths
       • Recognize indicators of child abuse including subtle forms of child abuse
       • Understand the importance of and procedures for maintaining the integrity of the
       crime scene
       • Determine proper evidence collection in any given death
       • Recognize the importance of team work and communication in successful death
       investigation from the scene to the courtroom and the contributions of each field of
       forensic science including the death investigator, forensic pathologist, toxicologist ,
       criminalist, firearms examiner, odontologist, entomologist, and anthropologist
       • Recognize the need for competent investigation of any given death, proper
       determination of the cause of death and manner of death, positive identification of the
       decedent, and proper collection and preservation of evidence associated with a death
       • Recognize the potential for future criminal or civil litigation in any given case
       • Be familiar with courtroom proceedings and importance of communicating findings
       to investigators
       • Be familiar with various regulating and certifying agencies in the field of forensic
       sciences

Course Content:

Week 1: Introduction to Pathology and Medicolegal Death Investigation, Medicolegal
Autopsy, Postmortem Changes, Common Mistakes in Forensic Pathology
(3/14/2019)

Week 2: Blunt and Sharp Force Injuries, traumatic brain injury and motor vehicle accidents ,
Firearm injuries
(3/21/2019):

Week 3 MIDTERM
(3/28/2019):

Week 4 (4/4/2019): Environmental Deaths including electrocution, and thermal injur ies,
asphyxia

Week 5
(4/11/2019): Natural deaths in adults and children, Sudden Unexpected Infant Death, other
forensics topics
PRESENTATION TOPICS DUE

4/18/2019 EASTER HOLIDAYS. NO CLASS

Week 6
(04/25/2019): IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS

Week 7
(05/02/2019): IN CLASS PRESENTATIONS

Week 8
(05/07/2019): FINAL 7-9 PM. NO CLASS.

Text and Readings:

Text: Handbook of Forensic Pathology, Second Edition by Vincent J.M. DiMaio and Suzanna
E. Dana. ISBN-10: 084939287X | ISBN-13: 978-0849392870, 2nd edition

Readings: Students will be given other supplemental material/ reading assignments as needed.

Major Assignment/Presentation: Students will be required to prepare 10-15 minute
PowerPoint presentation on a specific area of forensic pathology of their choosing along
with 2 test questions. The topic of the presentation must be submitted to and approved by the
instructor no later than 2 weeks prior to the due date.

Method of Evaluation:
Method of Grading:
      90-100% A
      80- 89% B
      70- 79% C
      60- 69% D
      Below 60% F

Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 40%
Presentation 40%

UNIVERSITY STATEMENT ON INTELLECTUAL HONESTY

Intellectual honesty is simply acknowledging, through documentation, all those sources that
the writer has used in preparing any written work. Plagiarism, the obverse of intellectua l
honesty, is the use of any form of material, whether written or verbal, without formal
indebtedness through documentation. The paraphrasing of any work is plagiarism. Not
properly identifying the source of a quotation, even though the quotation is enclosed in
quotation marks, is also plagiarism. Not only the exact language of a sentence or phrase, but
any material falsely represented as one’s own idea, concept, data, graph, or line of argument,
constitutes plagiarism. Any material that neither originates with the students nor is common
knowledge among educated persons must be formally acknowledged. It must be remembered
that written work stands on its own, not on the
intention of the writer. The burden of academic honesty rests with the student, not with the
instructor. If students have any doubt what constitutes plagiarism or what is required, they
should inquire before the work is submitted. Otherwise, they open themselves to charges of
plagiarism. The penalties for plagiarism are severe: a student who has found to have plagiarized
or to have assisted another student in plagiarizing may be given a failing grade for the course
on the first violation; a second offense may result in exclusion or dismissal from the university.

POLICY ON INCOMPLETE GRADES
Grades of I (Incomplete) change to F automatically if the course is not completed and the grade
changed by the sixth week of the subsequent semester, excluding summer terms. The resulting
F grade remains as the permanent grade for the course. Note: The grade of incomplete will not
be registered merely because the student did not complete all of the course requirements. For
a grade of incomplete to be recorded, the student and instructor must have previously agreed
to the circumstances of this grade, otherwise the delinquent assignments will be counted as
zero and impact the final grade accordingly.

DISABILTY SERVICES
Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are
encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services at 865-2990 as soon as possible to
ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

POLICY REGARDING RETURN OF STUDENT WORK
All students have the right to receive copies of their graded work and are encouraged to do so
in order to benefit from faculty feedback on the work. Graded assignments, projects, and papers
not returned directly to students while the class is in session will be made available for students
to pick up for at least six weeks after the beginning of the subsequent semester, excluding
summers. Following this time period, graded work being held for pick up may be destroyed.
Students who wish to receive copies of graded work should communicate directly with the
course faculty to arrange to receive the desired materials. Students should be aware that faculty
who do not teach summer classes may not be available to return papers until the beginning of
the subsequent fall term.

EVACUATION STATEMENT
Students must log on to the College emergency web site (www.loyno.la) and the University
Blackboard site (http://loyno.blackboard.com/ ) within 48 hours of any University evacuation
to receive further information regarding contacting course instructors for assignments, etc.
Students will be required to do assigned course work for any evacuation of more than 48 hours.
Students should also monitor the University site (www.loyno.edu) for general information.