The professions of a pathologist and a forensic medical expert are united by the fact that both the one and the other specialist have to work with the dead. In addition, each of these specialties has its own individual professional characteristics.
Pathologist
A pathologist conducts an autopsy of those who have died in a hospital in order to accurately determine the causes of death and make a final diagnosis that provoked the death. In addition to autopsy, the duties of a pathologist include examining the material taken for a biopsy, that is, analyzing a particle of human tissue or an organ obtained during diagnostic procedures or surgery.
Carrying out such a study allows a specialist to accurately diagnose a sick person, and his doctor - to prescribe the correct treatment. There are times when a pathologist must perform a biopsy examination very quickly, for example, during an operation while the patient is lying on the operating table under anesthesia. Such speed is necessary when a tumor is detected right during the operation, so that the surgeon can correctly determine the next steps. In this way, the pathologist helps doctors make the correct diagnosis and prevent the patient from getting on the autopsy table.
Forensic scientist
The duties of a forensic scientist include the examination of both dead and living people. A forensic medical examination can provide answers to numerous questions. It must be carried out without fail in order to make a conclusion about the death of a person who died as a result of an accident, suicide, injuries, murder. In addition, this procedure is needed if the patient suddenly died in the hospital on the first day of admission, when the diagnosis has not yet been made, or in case of a sudden death of a person at home, which occurred for unknown reasons. In short, forensic medical examination is prescribed when law enforcement officials have reasons to doubt the death of a person.
Distinguishing at work
There is a definite difference between a pathologist and a medical examiner. The pathologist is engaged in an autopsy in order to confirm or deny the diagnosis and cause of death, set by the attending physician, and the forensic scientist begins his work without any initial information.
The medical examiner initially does not know anything about the corpse. His conclusion is a conclusion about the cause of the death that occurred, about the approximate moment of its occurrence, about possible injuries and damage that could lead to death.
When working with living people, the duties of a forensic expert include carrying out a special examination necessary for a legal proceeding in a criminal case. In this case, the specialist gives the victim a conclusion on the severity of the injuries received as a result of unlawful actions.
