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Bio-Medicolegal Disciplines and Scientific Evidence

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Abstract

The chapter focuses on the systematization process that is transversely involving the bio-medicolegal sciences for the ante- and post-mortem ascertainment on living and dead persons, and traces a synthetic historical profile and the state of the art of some of the disciplines most directly involved in modern forensic ascertainment, from genetics to toxicology, radiology, anthropology, entomology, to medical law and ethics. The evolution in the evaluation of the causal value and causal link, to the present “criterion of scientific probability” and “counterfactual reasoning”, the progressive fragmentation of bio-medicolegal knowledge, due to the proliferation of ultra-specialised sub-disciplines and branches, the loss of unitariness, the importance of methodological and criteriological rigor and the achievement of quality and accuracy in order to increase the value of scientific evidence, are specifically traced.

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  1. Department of Legal and Occupational Medicine, Toxicology and Public Health, University-Hospital of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, 35121, Padova, Italy

    Santo Davide Ferrara

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    Santo Davide Ferrara

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Davide Ferrara, S. (2017). Bio-Medicolegal Disciplines and Scientific Evidence. In: Ferrara, S. (eds) P5 Medicine and Justice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67092-8_5

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