purposes , and processes , forensic pathology is always not without controversies , myths and fallacies . Some of the questions asked for-instance in murder cases include “ why can ’ t you just examine the eyes of the dead to see the identities of the killers ?” This is nothing but a misguided myth . Once one dies , even the eyes and brain die for they are also made of cells .
Other controversies emanate when a popular figure dies and we are unable to come up with a conclusive cause of death . Remember they are also human and represent the norms in humanity .
On some occasions , due to heavy cultural beliefs , rooting , and influence which preexist in our setup , some deaths have been attributed to witchcraft , with relatives blatantly refusing to agree with the findings of the autopsy team .
There is also the question of whether pathologists are influenced not to speak the truth . Unlike in the past when doctors used to work in isolation , in the current formation there are checks that have been put in place by ensuring that relatives are represented by a doctor of their choice . Relatives are also free to be part of the process by being allowed into the post mortem room and this includes their advocates thus making it difficult for the process being opaque and compromiseable . Other than that , the process is performed in a team and all through academic discussions leads to scientific conclusions .
Are there any investment opportunities in this field ? As noted above , there are gaps in existence including infrastructure for body preservation ( funeral homes ), and infrastructure for investigation including forensic radiology ( currently we don ’ t have any mortuary with X-ray , CT scan or MRI machines which can help reduce the percentage of negative autopsies ).
There is room for other intervention technologies including forensic angiography for studying of blood vessels . There is also opportunity for setting up DNA laboratory facility and toxicology laboratory ( in many times samples for toxicology which is the study of poisoning are shipped to laboratories abroad ).
In as much as this is a profitable venture to serious potential investors , these investments will go a long way in helping enrich the existing local facilities and scale up the quality of reports from the whole process .
In conclusion , forensic pathology has progressively evolved from centuries down
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the line to the current state . Advancement in technology has helped the process in solving complex crimes and in advising relatives in cases of genetic diseases .
With the outbreak of pandemics such as the Covid-19 , there is a need of further research on the disease with an aim of ensuring that the world understands it as this shall help in formulating ways of fighting the disease . Post mortem examination is on the forefront in this aspect .
There is also need for embracing of techniques including minimally invasive technology ( MIT ) of post mortem examination , which involve use of radiology and biopsies in the place of cutting up the whole body of the deceased thus reducing the pain on the part of bereaved parties who may want to know the cause of death but also have reservations on the opening up of bodies of their loved ones .
Dr . Johansen Oduor , MBChB ( UoN ), MMed Path ( UoN ), Dip for Med ( College of Medicine South Africa ), is a Forensic Pathologist and President Emeritus , African Society Forensic Medicine . You can commune with him via mail at : Johansenoduor @ gmail . com .
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