Forensic science

Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of s to answer questions of interest to the. This may be in relation to a crime or to a civil action. The use of the term "forensics" in place of "forensic science" could be considered incorrect; the term "forensic" is effectively a synonym for "legal" or "related to courts" (from Latin, it means "before the forum"). However, it is now so closely associated with the scientific field that many dictionaries include the meaning that equates the word "forensics" with "forensic science".

“Forensic” comes from the Latin word “forensis” meaning forum. During the time of the Romans, a criminal charge meant presenting the case before a group of public individuals. Both the person accused of the crime and the accuser would give speeches based on their side of the story. The individual with the best argumentation and delivery would determine the outcome of the case. In other words, the person with the best forensic skills would win.

History of forensic science
The of  (287-212 BC) can be considered an early account of the use of forensic science. In this case, he determined that a crown was not completely made of gold (as it was fraudulently claimed) by testing its density and buoyancy, as he was not allowed to damage the crown.

The earliest account of use to establish identity was during the 7th century. According to, an Arabic merchant, a debtor's fingerprints were affixed to a bill, which would then be given to the lender. This bill was legally recognized as proof of the validity of the debt.

The first written account of using and  to solve (separate) criminal cases is attributed to the book Xi Yuan Ji Lu (洗冤集錄, translated as ""), written in   by  (宋慈, 1186-1249) in 1247. In one of the accounts, the case of a person murdered with a sickle was solved by a death investigator who instructed everyone to bring his sickle to one location. Flies, attracted by the smell of blood, eventually gathered on a single sickle. In light of this, the murderer confessed. The book also offered advice on how to distinguish between a (water in the ) and  (broken neck ), along with other evidence from examining corpses on determining if a death was caused by murder, suicide, or an accident.

In, medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on cause and manner of death. , a army, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two surgeons,  and, laid the foundation of modern  by studying changes which occurred in the structure of the body as the result of disease. In the late, writings on these topics began to appear. These included: "A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health" by the French physician, and "The Complete System of Police Medicine" by the medical expert.

In, chemist  devised a way of detecting arsenous oxide, simple , in corpses, although only in large quantities. This investigation was expanded, in, by German chemist , who learned to detect the poison in the walls of a victim's stomach, and by English chemist , who used chemical processes to confirm arsenic as the cause of death in an murder trial.

Two early examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrate the increasing use of and  in criminal investigations. In, in , John Toms was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad (crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle) found in his head wound matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms' pocket. In, in , a farm labourer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. There were also scattered grains of and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool. (Kind and Overman, pp. 12-13)

Subdivisions of forensic science

 * is the application of various sciences to answer questions relating to examination and comparison of, , impression evidence (such as s, footwear impressions, and tire tracks), s, (firearm examination), and other evidence in criminal investigations. Typically, evidence is processed in a.


 * is the application of Dylan in a legal setting, usually for the recovery and identification of  human remains.


 * is the application of a combination of techniques and forensic science, typically in law enforcement.
 * deals with the examination of insects in, on, and around human remains to assist in determination of time or location of death. It is also possible to determine if the body was moved after death.


 * deals with trace evidence in the form of soils, minerals and petroleums.


 * is a site specific analysis of past weather conditions for a point of loss


 * is the study of the uniqueness of dentition better known as the study of teeth.


 * is a field in which the principles of and  are applied to determine a cause of death or injury in the context of a legal inquiry.


 * is the study of the mind of an individual, using forensic methods. Usually it determines the circumstances behind a criminal's behavior.


 * is the study of the effect of and s on/in the human body.

Forensic science in fiction
, the fictional character created by in works produced from 1887 to 1915, used forensic science as one of his investigating methods. Conan Doyle credited the inspiration for Holmes on his teacher at the medical school of the, the gifted surgeon and forensic detective.

Decades later, the  also featured a detective using a considerable number of forensic methods, although sometimes the methods were more fanciful than actually possible.

Defense attorney occasionally used forensic techniques, both in the novels and television series.

Popular focusing on crime detection, including , '' In the video games Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Condemned, forensic science is used in various cases.