[...]... activities of the forensic sciences indicates how various sciences can be applied to the documentation of evidence and to the solution of criminal and civil problems in any part of the world where such specialists are available and of their enormous value to law enforcement and justice ©1997 CRC Press LLC Historical Development of Forensic Sciences 2 WILLIAM G ECKERT Modern forensic sciences and their... modern forensic science were sown in the last quarter of the nineteenth century Progress from that time has been slow but steady American forensic scientists are now organized into the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS); this organization was established in 1948 by many pioneers in the field who were enthusiastically led by Dr R H Gradwohl of St Louis, Missouri The American Academy of Forensic Sciences. .. accidents Thus, forensic engineering has been added to the other areas of the forensic sciences Biology The examination of plant life, insects, soil, trees, dirt, seeds, and pollen, as well as blood analysis, can be a means of developing new resources to a forensic investigation Geology This field provides information on rocks and geological material which can offer a very important advance to forensic investigation... isolated instances of their forensic application in the past Education in the various fields of the forensic sciences varies from on-the-job training in bench work in a small law enforcement department’s crime laboratory to a year of special training in forensic pathology and special certification for pathologists already board certified in general pathology Specialized education for forensic pathologists has... pathology and biology, toxicology, criminalistics, questioned documents, forensic odontology, ©1997 CRC Press LLC anthropology, jurisprudence, psychiatry, and a general section Other sections are developing in such fields as engineering, geology, and microscopy Special Areas of the Forensic Sciences Pathology The discipline of forensic pathology is a specialty of medicine and a subspecialty of pathology... from routine dissection and analysis in cases of unnatural death Progress in the forensic sciences has not been uniform throughout the world In some European countries there has been a century of development, predominantly in forensic centers devoted to the education of physicians, lawyers, and law enforcement officials Forensic medicine developed quite rapidly from the beginning The study of questioned...Introduction to the Forensic Sciences 1 WILLIAM G ECKERT From the earliest times, the primary tools in the investigation of forensic cases have been observation and interpretation of physical evidence In the second half of the nineteenth century, science was first applied by advancing the manner in which cases were... available for less than 30 years Certification is the final acknowledgment of training and experience This has only recently been achieved in forensic toxicology, forensic odontology, and forensic psychiatry through the establishment of boards of certification by the Forensic Science Foundation, established by the AAFS Medicolegal Investigation Colonial Period It was clear to early American colonists that... Helpern published a major work in forensic medicine titled Legal Medicine and Toxicology This was the most important text in this field in America during the first half of the twentieth century The second edition appeared in 1954 This book reviewed the subjects of legal medicine and toxicology based on the vast experience of the New York medical examiner’s office and its forensic scientists The office of... pathology on the board.19 The first exams were held in 1959 Forensic pathology provides an excellent example of the degree of refinement all other fields of the forensic sciences can reach with understanding and proper development on a solid scientific basis It symbolizes what has been accomplished by the application of medical jurisprudence by S E Chaille.20 Forensic Toxicology Since prehistoric times when plants . Introduction to Forensic Sciences WILLIAM G. ECKERT 2 Historical Development of Forensic Sciences WILLIAM G. ECKERT 3 The Role of the Forensic Laboratory . International Association of Forensic Sciences, and he was a secretary and vice president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Among Dr. Eckert’s