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forensic pathology

forensic pathology

2 5.5
A medical field that studies dead bodies to find how and why someone died
  • noun
  • /fɔˈrɛn.sɪk pəˈθɑː.lə.dʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : patología forense

Examples

  • Another method of intervention that has proven extremely productive during the uprising is forensic pathology.

    Academic text (1994)
  • She is currently a professor of forensic pathology at the Indiana University Medical School in Muncie.

    Blog text (25)
  • In cases where death is the result of a crime, the sheriff depends on the medical examiner's expertise in forensic pathology to provide sometimes crucial evidence to investigations.

    Blog text (32)
  • When we read these reports carefully and compare their findings with what is now known about forensic pathology, we can see why people believed that corpses came to life and returned to wreak havoc on the local population.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The university's Centre of Legal Medicine is considered one of the best forensic pathology labs in the world.

  • I am a medical doctor, specializing in forensic pathology, which helps solve criminal cases.

  • Dr. Cyril Wecht is a leader in the field of forensic pathology and often testifies in court.

Synonyms

forensic medicine
vsforensic pathology
  • Specialized
1 3.7

Medical work that uses health knowledge to help police and courts

focuses on determining causes of death within legal investigations

How Legal

forensic pathology
  • Specialized
2 5.5
pathology
  • Specialized
63 6.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

forensic + pathology

Both constituents are semantically clear: 'forensic' relates to legal/forensic contexts and 'pathology' is the study of diseases, so the NP literally denotes the branch of pathology used in legal investigations (e.g., determining causes of death). The adjective+noun composition is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words can reliably infer the meaning.

Etymology

Forensic pathology comes from two parts: forensic, meaning 'connected with the court', and pathology, meaning the study of disease and dead bodies. Imagine a doctor who studies a dead body and then speaks in court to explain how the person died, so that is why forensic pathology means 'medical work in legal investigations'.