1. LEBANESE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
COURSESYLLABUS:
BMED440 Criminology andForensic Science
Campus andSemester Beirut, Fall
Instructor andEmail
Schedule TBA
COURSEDESCRIPTION
This course is dedicated to teach the students the principles of criminology and forensic medicine by providing them
with invaluable insights into this rapidly evolving division of science.
Forensic science is the application of science to the law, this course will address different interesting topics,
including the relation between law and medicine, medical ethics, methods of criminal and forensic identification,
different causes of injuries and death along with description of different toxins and their actions.
COUSREOBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the course the student should be able to:
Know the definition and main aspects of criminology and forensic sciences.
Understand main criminal laws and medical malpractice.
Understand the medical aspects of death.
Describe methods of identifications of the living and the dead.
Understand the peculiarities of different types of injuries according to their causative factor(s).
ATTENDENCE
The course is run in lecture and discussion mode. Attendance sheet will be signed by every student at the beginning
of each lecture. Class attendance to the lectures is crucial. Absence should be reported to the student affairs.
Excused absence for more than 6 teaching hours grants an ‘AW’ in the course. Hence no unexcused absence is
allowed.
TUTORIAL SESSIONS
Unscheduled tutorial date, time and venue will be announced in advance.
EXAMINATION
The course will have one in-course exama project and a final in-class examination.
GRADING
The final grade will be based using the following weights:
ExamI 35 %
Project 20 %
Final Exam 45 %
Total 100%
The final letter grade will be determined from the total points scored from the assignments and examinations after
rounding up to the nearest integer value. LIU letter grade systemwill be followed without exceptions.
Make-up examinations may be granted only in cases of documented inability to attend. Student is responsible to
submit the inability to attend excuse not latter than one week from the exam. The excuse has to be submitted to the
Student affairs office. Valid reasons will be considered at the instructor's discretion. These cases should be
communicated to the instructor in advance.
2. References:
Simpson’s Forensic Medicine, 12th
edition 2003
Hand outs provided by the instructor
SCHEDULEOF CLASSES
Class Date Topic Assignment
Week One Introduction to criminology andforensic science
The Ethics of Medical Practice
Medical Malpractice
- Doctors and the law.
- Preparation of medical reports.
- International Code of Medical Ethics.
- Medical ethics in practice.
- Medical confidentiality and consent to medical treatment.
- Medical negligence and its types; systems of compensation;
Professional misconduct.
Week Two The Medico-legal Aspects of Mental Disease
- Normal and abnormal behavior.
- Types of abnormal mental condition
- Mental health legislation and the criminal justice system.
- Criminal responsibility: age and mental capacity.
- The effect of drink or drugs on responsibility.
- Testamentary capacity.
Week Three The Medical Aspects of Death; Changes after Death
- Definition of death.
- Resuscitation.
- Persistent vegetative state.
- Tissue and organ transplantation.
- Death certification.
- The autopsy.
Changes after Death
- Early changes.
- Rigor mortis.
- Cadaveric rigidity.
- Post-mortemhypostasis.
- Cooling of the body after death.
- Estimation of the time of death.
Week Four Identification of the Living andthe Dead
- Morphological characteristics.
- Fingerprints.
- Identity fromteeth.
- Identification of the origin of tissue or samples.
- The individuality of cells.
- Identification by DNA profiling.
- Tattoos and body piercing.
- Identity of decomposed or skeletalized remains.
- Facial reconstruction fromskulls.
Week Five Regional Injuries
3. - Head injuries.
- Neck injuries.
- Spinal injuries.
- Chest injuries.
- Abdomen.
Week Six Transportation Injuries
- Road traffic injuries.
- The medical examination of victims of road.
- traffic accidents.
- Aircraft fatalities.
- Mass disasters and the doctor.
Week Seven Asphyxia
- Suffocation.
- Smothering.
- Gagging.
- Choking.
- Pressure on the neck.
-‘Vagal inhibition’ or reflexcardiac arrest.
- Manual strangulation.
- Ligature strangulation.
- Hanging.
- Traumatic asphyxia.
Week Eight Immersion andDrowning
- Signs of immersion.
- Drowning.
- Laboratory tests for drowning.
Week Nine Injury due to Heat, ColdandElectricity
- Injury due to heat.
- Cold injury (hypothermia).
- Electrical injury.
- Death fromlightning.
Week Ten Effects of Injuries
- Haemorrhage.
- Infection.
- Embolism.
- Disseminated intravascular coagulation.
- Adult respiratory distress syndrome.
- Suprarenal haemorrhage.
- Subendocardial haemorrhages.
Week Eleven Sexual Offences, Pregnancy andAbortion
- Types of sexual offence.
- The genuineness of allegations of sexual assault.
- Forensic examination of victims of sexual offences.
- Examination of an alleged assailant.
- Conception: artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization and embryo
research.
- Pregnancy.
- Abortion.
Week Twelve Neglect, Starvation andAbuse of Human Rights; Childabuse
- Physical abuse of human rights: torture.
- Neglect and starvation.
- Child abuse.
