forensic medicine

American  

noun

1. the application of medical knowledge to questions of civil and criminal law, especially in court proceedings.

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forensic medicine British  

noun

1. Also called: medical jurisprudence.   legal medicine.  the applied use of medical knowledge or practice, esp pathology, to the purposes of the law, as in determining the cause of death

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forensic medicine Scientific  

/ fə-rĕn′sĭk /

1. The branch of medicine that interprets or establishes the medical facts in civil or criminal law cases.

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Etymology

Origin of forensic medicine

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

In the year since the army recaptured Khartoum, authorities have exhumed and reburied "around 28,000 people", Hisham Zein al-Abdeen, head of forensic medicine at Sudan's health ministry, told AFP.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

The study began in 2003, when José Antonio Lorente, professor of forensic medicine at Granada University, and the historian Marcial Castro, exhumed what were believed to be the remains of Columbus from Seville Cathedral.

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2024

The head of the forensic medicine department at Chulalongkorn University’s medical school said that there was cyanide in the blood of all six, according to the Associated Press.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2024

Ahmet Hilal, a professor of forensic medicine at Cukurova University in Adana, said his research in the afflicted area found that there were currently about 1,470.

From New York Times • Mar. 12, 2023

One is the common ignorance of legal or forensic medicine among the members of the profession.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 11, No. 25, April, 1873 by Various