Scars, tattoos, and birthmarks can help forensic pathologists positively identify corpses. These identifying features can be found anywhere on the body, from small marks to large birthmarks or elaborate tattoos. Scars often result from past injuries or wounds requiring hospital treatment, so examining medical records detailing surgery scars can aid identification. Likewise, tattoos are unique since people get them to make statements, so tattoo artists' records of tattoos they created, including photos and client names, also enable identification.

1. There are many different methods that a forensic pathologist can use to make a positive
identification against a corpse that finds its way onto his or her autopsy table; and one
of the most useful and simplest is that of identifying scars, tattoos and birthmarks that
may be present on the body.
These identifying features are to be found anywhere on the body and can be anything
from small marks to large spreading birthmarks, tattoos that simply specify a name or
have an elaborate artistic bent or scars from previous wounds.
Scars
Scars are often the result of past wounds or injuries that may have
required hospital treatment and this is a good place to start for the pathologist who
wants to make a positive identification.
Hospitals keep detailed records of all injuries and especially in the case of injuries that
will have required an operation of sorts to rectify the problem. These operations may
have been small - keyhole surgery - or major invasive surgery but they will have all left
their own tell tale marks: i.e. scars.
In a patient's medical files there will often be a detailed sketch of the anatomy and on it
will be marked out areas of the body that were operated upon and this is a good place
to start when it comes to identifying scars.
Tattoos
Tattoos again are unique in that most individual's who have a tattoo do so because they
want to make some sort of statement or to display their love for a loved one - a wife or
child - or for an organisation or icon in their lives. This uniqueness makes tattoos
another useful source of identification and again it is worth mentioning that many tattoo
artists, if they have been commissioned to do a one-off tattoo will invariably take
pictures of it for their own records.
These records can be useful as if they are shown a picture of the tattoo as
photographed on the deceased they can match it against their records, which should
include a name and address. It is worth remembering also that teenagers under the
legal age will try and have tattoos or ear piercing without their parents' consent, which in
itself can be a good memory jogger for the tattooist.