Toxicology: Forensic Toxicology: Causes And Uses

2146 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Forensic toxicology poisoning case study

Toxicology Forensic toxicology is a branch of forensic science concerned with the study of toxic substances or poisons; toxicology is the study of the toxic or harmful effects of chemicals. It is concerned with how toxins act, when their harmful effects occur, and what the symptoms and treatments are for poisoning. It also involves the identification of the substances involved (Interdisciplinary).
Forensic toxicologists have faced numerous challenges throughout the 1800’s and are still facing some of these challenges today. In Gettler’s and Norris’s time of being head of forensics in New York, they faced problems within toxicology study, and some out of toxicology. One of their main problems was metabolizing a poison and determining the lethal …show more content…

One of many problems, stated by Dr. Bruce Goldberger, a Professor and Director of Toxicology at the University of Florida, stated that it was nearly impossible for toxicology testing to keep pace with new formulations of synthetic drugs. He went on to say, “There are many of these synthetic drugs that we currently don’t have the methodology to test on… There is no one test or combination of tests that can detect every possible substance out there”. Another occurrence in the corruption within today’s toxicology challenge is the National Research Council provides an assessment of the past, present, and future of forensic science, mainly the notion of evidence. The NRC described the need for advances in disciplines in order to improve criminal investigations, enhance national security, and reduce the possibility of wrongful convictions. There have also been recent events relating to bioterrorism, which is a form of terrorism involving the intentional release of biological agents. These agents can consist of bacteria, viruses, or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form ("Bioterrorism Overview", 2007). These activities create a demand for the enhancement of the foundations in which forensic science rests. Another issue is the limitations on post-mortem toxicology. If a death wasn’t considered to be suspicious, an autopsy may not be performed. Even if …show more content…

It isn’t superior to the old reliable testing that Gettler once did, but the new technology is able to isolate compounds and substances much more efficiently, but is equivalent to the old methods used. Toxicology is an important field in chemistry; it entails pieces of important information about our life. Without the development of this branch of science, along with forensics, many of us would not be here today. Toxicologists must be heavily experienced and trained in this field, being able to be extremely methodical and they must bear the burden of deciding what makes up a poison and how can it be harmful to

Show More
Related

  • The Poisoner's Handbook Sparknotes

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most medical experts often had to supplement their findings with more conventional detective work. Rob Rapley recounts the famous cases of the day including the factory workers who painted glow in the dark watch dials with radium paint. Women who worked in these factories were unknowingly being poisoned as they put their brushes in their mouths to touch up the point. Since women were dying years after having access to the paint, it was hard to tell whether or not they died from the paint at work or from another cause. It wasn’t until Gettler ran tests on a woman’s bones five years after her death and found radium still remaining in her bones. Also, a man named Mike Malloy miraculously survived tragic situations such as being run over by a taxi and being fed rotten food before finally dying from poisonous gas. The cause of his death, however, was not spontaneous and was a result of money hunger than those who insured him shared. This models that murderers used poison to commit crimes in search of money. One pair of murderers, exculpated by Gettler’s evidence in 1924, was finally caught in 1936, when they killed again using the same poison.

    Read More

  • Mystery Powder Lab Report

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    Forensic Science Introduction: Someone in a restaurant has suddenly fallen ill and a mystery powder has been discovered with the victim. As the chief investigator, your duty is to identify the mystery substance through a lab. In this lab, it will consist of five known compounds and one unknown compound. Your job is to distinguish which one out of the five substances is the mystery powder. To figure out the mystery matter you will have to compare their physical and chemical properties and match them with the appropriate compound.

    Read More

  • Seven Mistakes in Suicide Investigations

    2673 Words  | 6 Pages

    When a death occurs suddenly, unexpectedly and from unnatural or unknown causes, a forensic scientist has the duty to gather and analyze evidence to determine whether the victim died from a previously undiagnosed disease or infection or from a homicide, suicide or accident (Lurigio, 2009). When considering suicide as the probable cause of death, we are looking at the act of intentionally killing oneself through one’s own effort or with the assistance of another (Sever, 2009). The resolution of the manner of death by a forensic pathologist as suicide is based on a series of factors which eliminate natural causes of death, homicide and accident (Geberth, 2013, p.55). The cause of death is also determined by the medical examiner in conjunction with the crime scene investigator; however, it can only be determined after a thorough investigation is concluded. Therefore, in the complicated process of doing a death investigation there are several mistakes that should be avoided, which are discussed in Geberth’s article, Seven Mistakes in Suicide Investigation (2013). Mistakes in doing any death investigation affect the integrity of the evidence in determining the cause of death and in its admissibility in court.

    Read More

  • Essay On Amerithrax

    985 Words  | 2 Pages

    Possible hidden messages in the amino acid codes seemed to authorities like possible doings of Ivins, and he was resultantly placed under watch. Authorities found a copy of a book on amino acids in Ivins’ trash, further incriminating him. Charges were placed against him, but however, on July 27th, 2008, Ivins died in the hospital, after intentionally overdosing on Paracetamol, an over-the-counter pain reliever, in what the authorities believed to be an attempt to avoid his charges. The authorities had lost their strongest suspect, and the investigation began to dwindle. The investigation included over ten thousand witnesses, spanning six continents. 1 year and 6 months later, the investigation was forma...

    Read More

  • Forensic Toxicology Essay

    1530 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term forensic toxicology is defined as examination of all aspects of toxicity that may have legal implications (James & Nordby, 2009 p. 61). In the past, poisoning was one of the most popular forms of murder. There are countless natural substances in the world that when ingested into the body in high doses, can become lethal to the human body. What made this form of murder so famous is that most poisons mimic common medical diseases, leading physicians to believe a victim died of natural causes (Ramsland, n.d.). Aside from murder, this forensic discipline is also essential for determining accidental deaths and suicides.

    Read More

  • Forensics in the Criminal Justice System

    334 Words  | 1 Pages

    The criminal justice system has changed a lot since the good old days of the Wild West when pretty much anything was legal. Criminals were dealt with in any fashion the law enforcement saw fit. The science of catching criminals has evolved since these days. We are better at catching criminals than ever and we owe this advancement to forensic science. The development of forensic science has given us the important techniques of fingerprinting and DNA analysis. We can use these techniques to catch criminals, prove people's innocence, and keep track of inmates after they have been paroled. There are many different ways of solving crimes using forensic evidence. One of these ways is using blood spatter analysis; this is where the distribution and pattern of bloodstains is studied to find the nature of the event that caused the blood spatter. Many things go into the determination of the cause including: the effects of various types of physical forces on blood, the interaction between blood and the surfaces on which it falls, the location of the person shedding the blood, the location and actions of the assailant, and the movement of them both during the incident. Another common type of forensic evidence is trace evidence. This is commonly recovered from any number of items at a crime scene. These items can include carpet fibers, clothing fibers, or hair found in or around the crime scene. Hairs recovered from crime scenes can be used as an important source of DNA. Examination of material recovered from a victim's or suspect's clothing can allow association to be made between the victim and other people, places, or things involved in the investigation. DNA analysis is the most important part of forensic science. DNA evidence can come in many forms at the crime scene. Some of these forms include hair; bodily fluids recovered at the crime scene or on the victim's body, skin under the victim's fingernails, blood, and many others. This DNA can be the basis of someone's guilt or innocence; it has decided many cases in the twentieth century. As the times continue to change and the criminals get smarter we will always need to find new ways to catch them. Forensic science is the most advanced method yet, but is only the beginning. As the field of science grows so will the abilities of the

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Animal Testing

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    and Europe, which include reduction of animal use, refine animal study techniques, and animal testing replacement. According to Dana ,Bidnall, “Animals are also used, and subsequently killed, every year in many other types of laboratory experiments, from military testing to simulated car crashes to deliberately introduced diseases such as AIDS and Alzheimer 's”(49). Bidnal also states that, “These experiments take place in labs at universities, pharmaceutical companies, and testing agencies, and on farms and military bases around the world”(49). The author suggest,”Researchers who conduct experiments on animals argue that it would be unethical to test substances with potentially adverse side effects on humans; animals are good surrogates because their responses are similar to humans”(49).Bidnal contends with ,”However, some animals are chosen for other reasons”(49). According to Bindal, “Animal testing is not the only option in toxicity testing”(50). Bidnal states, “Alternatives are widely available and include human clinical and epidemiological studies; experiments with cadavers, volunteers,and patients; computer simulation and mathematical models; and in vitro (test tube) tissue culture techniques, to name just a

    Read More

  • Forensic Pathology Research Paper

    257 Words  | 1 Pages

    Forensic pathologists are the people who determine the cause and time of death if the deceased person died under suspicious circumstances, whether they be violent or not. They determine if the death was accidental, a homicide, natural, a suicide, or even if the cause of death was unknown. They do this by studying said victim’s medical history, evaluating the crime scene for evidence, studying the body for any clues, and performing an autopsy. After determining the cause, time, and the manner in which the victim died, forensic pathologists make a written report on the victim and sometimes testify in court to report their findings.

    Read More

  • Inethical Case Analysis: Lundbeck's Pentobarbital Case

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 2011, the media reported that in US prisons a sedative used for death penalty purposes was not being used as intended by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck. The drug Nembutal as well as others were mixed into a cocktail and administered to prisoners undergoing the death penalty. Lundbeck got word of this from

    Read More

  • Forensics Anthropology

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    Forensics Anthropology is the study that goes beyond the human skeleton. A forensics anthropologist can find out. How a person lived, the food that person ate, and the overall make-up of a human. The use of forensics has grown in recent years, it is used to solve crimes and locate missing persons. Snow, (1982) Forensics anthropology is not a new science. The first case forensics anthropology was used on was the Jezebel case, dating back to the nineteenth century. This case involved a person, who was thrown from a window. Snow, (1982) The remains found in this case were the skull, feet, and the palm of the victim’s hands.

    Read More

  • Forensic Psychology Essay

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    Forensic psychology is the application of psychological principles and techniques to situations involving the civil and criminal legal systems. Forensic sciences circumscribe vast number of fields of science, “including anthropology, biology, chemistry, engineering, genetics, medicine, pathology, phonetics, psychiatry, and toxicology” (Batten 1). Forensic psychologist is valued tool for the legal system of the United States, by allowing an outside expert recommendation of legal competency in cases which may shock the moral system.

    Read More

  • The Ethical Structure Behind Human Experimentation

    3400 Words  | 7 Pages

    The dark history of human experimentation began with the clarification between experimentation and treatment. The larger public began to notice experimenters ethical neglect for their subjects in the early 1960s. Those charged with administering research funding took note of the public furor generated by the exposure of gross abuses in medical research. These included uncontrolled promotional distribution of thalidomide throughout the United States, labeled as an experimental drug; the administration of cancer cells to senile and debilitated patients at the Brooklyn Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital; and the uncontrolled distribution of LSD to children at Harvard Medical Center through Professors Alpert and Leary. Most important was Henry Beechers 1966 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, detaili...

    Read More

  • Forensic Science: Stopping the Crime

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    Forensic Science, recognized as Forensics, is the solicitation of science to law to understand evidences for crime investigation. Forensic scientists are investigators that collect evidences at the crime scene and analyse it uses technology to reveal scientific evidence in a range of fields. Physical evidence are included things that can be seen, whether with the naked eye or through the use of magnification or other analytical tools. Some of this evidence is categorized as impression evidence2.In this report I’ll determine the areas of forensic science that are relevant to particular investigation and setting out in what method the forensic science procedures I have recognized that would be useful for the particular crime scene.

    Read More

  • Essay On Forensic Toxicology

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Forensic toxicologists have faced numerous challenges throughout the 1800’s and are still facing some of these challenges today. In Gettler’s and Norris’s time of being head of forensics in New York, they faced problems within toxicology study, and some out of toxicology. One of their main problems was metabolizing a poison and determining the lethal dose.

    Read More

  • How Technology Has Impacted Criminal Investigation

    2200 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The word ‘forensics’ means “connected with the courtroom”; so forensic science is, therefore, concerned with gathering hard evidence that can be presented in a trial” (Innes 9). Forensic science is a science that is applied specifically to legal matters, whether criminal or civil. “Few areas in the realm of science are as widespread and important as forensic science” (Hunter 12). Forensics is the one science that is most commonly used in everyday life. It is also a branch of science that incorporates other branches of science such as biology, chemistry, and etc. Since it is used almost every day “No one can dispute the importance of the contributions to society made by forensic science; the ability to solve crime is undeniably important” (Hunter 13). Forensic science has given criminal investigation a new edge. “Advances in science have opened the door for more effective evidence discovery, howev...

    Read More

More about Toxicology: Forensic Toxicology: Causes And Uses

Open Document