The postmortem examination on the abused child. Pathological, radiographic, and legal aspects.

Abstract

In this article we have described for a pathologist without forensic experience the need to describe meticulously all the injuries an abused child has suffered; the reasons for this required detail and attention; the need to exclude natural disease as the cause of death; the common radiographic features and morphology of injuries found in an abused child; the responsibility of the pathologist to the dead child and any living siblings; and have given an intimation of the legal processes which may follow.