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26-542: Medical jurisprudence or legal medicine is the branch of science and medicine involving the study and application of scientific and medical knowledge to legal problems, such as inquests, and in the field of law. As modern medicine is a legal creation, regulated by the state, and medicolegal cases involving death, rape, paternity , etc. require a medical practitioner to produce evidence and appear as an expert witness , these two fields have traditionally been interdependent. Forensic medicine, which includes forensic pathology ,

52-575: A widow's peak , or the cleft chin , may serve as tentative indicators of (non-) parenthood as they are readily observable and inherited via autosomal-dominant genes. A more reliable way to ascertain parenthood is via DNA analysis (known as genetic fingerprinting of individuals), although older methods have included ABO blood group typing , analysis of various other proteins and enzymes , or using human leukocyte antigens . The current techniques for paternity testing are using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism . For

78-552: A chair founded at the University of Edinburgh in 1807, first occupied by Andrew Duncan, the younger . It was imposed on the university by the administration of Charles James Fox , and in particular Henry Erskine working with Andrew Duncan, the elder . In the 19th century two new tools appear: Forensic psychiatry (to determine the mental health and blameworthiness of a suspect), and forensic toxicology (giving evidence in cases as intentional poisonings and drug use ). In

104-602: A child aside from the biological relationship. A child has at least one biological father and at least one biological mother , but not every family is a traditional nuclear family . There are many variants, such as adoption , shared parenting , stepfamilies , and LGBT parenting , over which there has been controversy. The social science literature rejects the notion that there is an optimal gender mix of parents or that children and adolescents with same-sex parents suffer any developmental disadvantages compared with those with two opposite-sex parents. The professionals and

130-404: A legal guardian without a formal court appointment. In such circumstances the parent acting in that capacity is called the natural guardian of that parent's child. Parenting or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the physical , emotional , social, financial, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood . Parenting refers to the aspects of raising

156-402: A minor, and guardianship for developmentally disabled adults. Most countries and states have laws that provide that the parents of a minor child are the legal guardians of that child, and that the parents can designate who shall become the child's legal guardian in the event of death, subject to the approval of the court. Some jurisdictions allow a parent of a child to exercise the authority of

182-460: A pregnancy involving embryo transfer or egg donation , it is obvious who the mother is. However, it is used in a number of events such as legal battles where a person's maternity is challenged, where the mother is uncertain because she has not seen her child for an extended period of time, or where deceased persons need to be identified. Although not constituting completely reliable evidence, several congenital traits such as attached earlobes ,

208-502: A third person who has provided DNA samples during an assisted reproductive procedure that has altered the recipients' genetic material. The most common types of parents are mothers , fathers , step-parents , and grandparents . A mother is "a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth." The extent to which it is socially acceptable for a parent to be involved in their offspring's life varies from culture to culture, however one that exhibits too little involvement

234-515: Is a male parent of any type of offspring. It may be the person who shares in the raising of a child or who has provided the biological material, the sperm , which results in the birth of the child. Grandparents are the parents of a person's own parent, whether that be a father or a mother. Every sexually reproducing creature who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic grandparents, eight genetic great-grandparents , sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents and so on. Rarely, such as in

260-426: Is a narrower frontline field which involves the collection, documentation, analysis and presentation of objective information (medical evidence) for use in the legal system. When investigating a death, forensic pathologists: The Australian Museum shows in a step by step virtual demonstration what happens during an autopsy procedure. Song Ci (1186–1249) was probably the first forensic scientist. He recorded all

286-424: Is concerned with a broad range of medical, legal, and ethical issues, as well as human rights and rights of individuals . Physicians have a duty to act in their patients best interest and can be charged in a court of law if they fail to do so. On the other hand, a physician may be required to act in the interest of third parties if his patient is a danger to others. Failure to do so may lead to legal action against

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312-438: Is sometimes said to exhibit child neglect , while one that is too involved is sometimes said to be overprotective , cosseting, nosey , or intrusive . A person's biological parents are the persons from whom the individual inherits their genes . The term is generally only used if there is a need to distinguish an individual's parents from their biological parents, For example, an individual whose father has remarried may call

338-555: The Papal States and Catholic Church . Zacchias was the personal physician to Pope Innocentius X and Pope Alexander VII , as well as legal adviser to the Rota Romana . His most well known book, Quaestiones medico-legales (1621–1651) established legal medicine as a topic of study. Zacchias work contains superstitious views on magic , witches , and demons which were widely held at the time. Medical jurisprudence had

364-761: The United Kingdom, the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine was established as a Faculty of the Royal College of Physicians in 2006 to develop and maintain the highest possible standards of competence and professional integrity in forensic and legal medicine. The specialty covers professionals working in three related disciplines: forensic medical practitioners (forensic physicians, forensic pathologists, sexual assault examiners, and child physical and sexual assault examiners); medico-legal advisers; and medically qualified coroners . Medical jurisprudence

390-408: The case of sibling or half-sibling incest , these numbers are lower . A paternity test is conducted to prove paternity, that is, whether a male is the biological father of another individual. This may be relevant in view of rights and duties of the father. Similarly, a maternity test can be carried out. This is less common, because at least during childbirth and pregnancy , except in the case of

416-432: The father's new wife their stepmother and continue to refer to their mother normally, though someone who has had little or no contact with their biological mother may address their foster parent as their mother, and their biological mother as such, or perhaps by her first name. A mother is a female who has a maternal connection with another individual, whether arising from conception , by giving birth to, or raising

442-429: The human body worked, and became professor of medicine at Padua University . He insisted that his medical students should perform dissections. His work " De Humani Corporis Fabrica " was groundbreaking in the history of medical publishing and is considered to be a major step in the development of scientific medicine . Paul Zacchias was also one of the earliest figures of medical jurisprudence, with association with

468-413: The individual in the role of a parent. More than one female may have such connections with an individual. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother to suit a universally accepted definition. The utilization of a surrogate mother may result in explication of there being two biological mothers. A father

494-513: The known forensic techniques at the time in his book known as the Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified . Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564), imperial physician to the court of Emperor Charles V , revolutionized the practice of medicine by providing detailed descriptions of the anatomy of the human body, which were based on his dissections of cadavers and autopsies . In 1537, aged just 22, Vesalius performed public dissections to show how

520-408: The major associations now agree there is a well-established and accepted consensus in the field that there is no optimal gender combination of parents. The family studies literature indicates that it is family processes (such as the quality of parenting and relationships within the family) that contribute to determining children's well-being and "outcomes", rather than family structures, per se, such as

546-410: The most part, however, genetic fingerprinting has all but taken over all the other forms of testing. A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Guardians are typically used in three situations: guardianship for an incapacitated senior (due to old age or infirmity), guardianship for

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572-441: The number of offspring, the offspring can increase their fitness by getting a greater share of parental investment often by competing with their siblings . The theory was proposed by Robert Trivers in 1974 and extends the more general selfish gene theory and has been used to explain many observed biological phenomena. For example, in some bird species, although parents often lay two eggs and attempt to raise two or more young,

598-408: The number, gender, sexuality and co-habitation status of parents. An offspring who hates their father is called a misopater, one that hates their mother is a misomater, while a parent that hates their offspring is a misopedist. Parent–offspring conflict describes the evolutionary conflict arising from differences in optimal fitness of parents and their offspring . While parents tend to maximize

624-442: The physician. Medical jurisprudence includes: Under the second heading, there are many aspects, including: Under the third heading, there are also many aspects, including: Parent A parent can also be elaborated as an ancestor removed one generation . With recent medical advances, it is possible to have more than two biological parents. Examples of third biological parents include instances involving surrogacy or

650-410: The sensitivity of the mother to insulin and thus make a larger supply of blood sugar available to the fetus. The mother responds by increasing the level of insulin in her bloodstream, the placenta has insulin receptors that stimulate the production of insulin-degrading enzymes which counteract this effect. In Europe, parents are generally happier than non-parents. In women, happiness increases after

676-423: The strongest fledgling takes a greater share of the food brought by parents and will often kill the weaker sibling, an act known as siblicide . David Haig has argued that human fetal genes would be selected to draw more resources from the mother than it would be optimal for the mother to give, a hypothesis that has received empirical support. The placenta , for example, secretes allocrine hormones that decrease

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