Forensic Medicine Department, M.P. Shah Medical College, Jamnagar.
The paper deals with the retrospective study of a period of five-year span from 1997 to 2001. It is a screering of about 4515 cases conducted during this period out of which 617 were sent for HPE. The paper deals with various aspects of HPE in medico legal cases like what are the various reasons to request for HPE. When are the reports received? Did any of these reports change the legal status of the case? Did any of the lawyers ask for it in court of law? What was the quality of the HPE reports? The paper also deals with limitations of the HPE and attitude of the pathologists who gave these reports.
Ours is a big medical college admitting 175 medical students in first M.B.B.S.. It is attached with a hospital, which is about 1400-beded. We conduct about 800 to 900 hundred PMEs per year. We can presume that whatever is the state of affair in our institute should be the state of affairs in almost all institutes in India. Therefore presumably this paper reflects the status of HPE in medico legal PMEs in India.
HPE, PME, utility, limitations, attitude
