Forensic Pathology for Police, Death Investigators, Attorneys, and Forensic Scientists

Prahlow is an M.D. who practices forensic pathology in South Bend, Indiana, and his book is for professionals and aspiring professionals whose work entails interaction with forensic pathologists. These folks need more information than popular TV shows supply. This thorough, informative text begins with an introduction to the many aspects of forensic sciences and an overview of the chain of custody, admissibility of tests and evidence, and expert witnesses. Following are chapters on the duties of the forensic pathologist, and death investigation and certification. An overview of anatomy and physiology precedes coverage of autopsy, postmortem changes and determination of time of death, identification of human remains, and major causes of death (including natural causes, drug-related, blunt force, gunshot, and drowning, among others). The visuals are small b&w photos that don't need to be flashy; their contents are sufficient to shock most lay readers. They support the narrative text describing investigatory techniques, and they demonstrate something of the practitioner's necessarily direct confrontation with death, and sometimes decay, and sometimes violence. The included CD-ROM offers a set of images (an errata sheet indicates that the CD-ROM's collection is incomplete and that the complete set can be found online). Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)