Profile of Medico-legal Autopsies Done at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar for a Period of 3 Years

Medico-legal autopsy otherwise known as coroner's autopsy dates back to 4000 BC. It was performed to protect the future what is known as horuspicy. All deaths due to unnatural causes and deaths that are believed to be due to natural causes but the cause of death is not certain or known are subject to inquest. The profiling of medicolegal cases is necessary in order to prevent the preventable casualties in future and to study the genuine crime rate in the area.

The study was undertaken to determine the pattern of medico-legal autopsy done in our setup and to examine implication to medical education.

A total number of 898 medico-legal autopsies were performed during the study period of 3 years i.e., from 1Jan 2014 to 31Dec 2016 in our institute. In this study period, male subjects constituted 76.3% (n=685) of the cases making it Male: Female ratio of 3.26: 1. Middle aged males constituted the major number of cases with Road traffic injuries as the major cause followed by poisoning. September month recorded the highest number of cases in our study.

This study helps to interpret the types of medico-legal autopsy cases presenting at the Tertiary care hospital attached to Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology in Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar. This will provide an insight to the policy makers, law custodians, and the community to look into the specific aspects of the cases and, then, take measures, accordingly, for the benefit of the community and people at large of this area.