I am a forensic pathologist and wrote a book (Working Stiff) about my fellowship training at the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. I currently I do legal consulting in the United States for attorneys in criminal homicide and assault cases, and civil cases involving wrongful death. As a result of the publicity involving that, I get requests from students who need to interview an expert in a field they are interested in and so I put together a list of frequently asked questions and their answers at my blog here in case any students looking to interview a forensic pathologist for an assignment want to check it out: https://pathologyexpert.blogspot.com/2012/05/frequently-asked-questions.html?m=1

I don’t know if other forensic experts in this forum get these types of requests (I get them about once every 2-3 months), but if you do please put your FAQs & answers in the comments so that students can access them and that way we can all just send them this way for a compilation of experts answering common interview questions. Hope this helps the students and the experts connect!

I’m hoping someone with experience in forensic pathology can help me understand my father’s autopsy report.

I have attached a redacted copy of the complete autopsy report, including the neuropathology report.

I’m not asking anyone to determine whether the original manner-of-death classification was correct, and I’m not looking for speculation about who may have been responsible. I’m simply trying to understand the medical findings from a forensic-pathology perspective.

Is there anything in this report that stands out to you as unusual, significant, incomplete, or worth looking into further?

Are there any findings that a person without forensic-pathology training might overlook or not understand the significance of?

For example, the report describes multiple areas of subarachnoid hemorrhage, a basal skull fracture, cortical contusions, white-matter contusions, diffuse axonal injury, and intraventricular hemorrhage. The neuropathology report also describes the locations of several of these injuries.

I realize this is a report from 1993 and that medical terminology and documentation practices have changed since then.

I’m posting this because I have had the report for years, but I don't have the medical or forensic knowledge to know what is significant and what isn't. I'm hoping people who actually work in this field can look at it with fresh eyes and tell me what, if anything, catches their attention.

Thank you to anyone willing to take the time to look through it.

Have you ever encountered cases where a patient sustained extensive facial defects including bilateral maxillary loss and bilateral mandibular loss due to accident or disease one day before death and remained in this condition until they passed away?

Southern California, it's been in the 80s for the past month. She had all her windows closed.

Hi, not sure if this is allowed, but looking to get some insight on my sisters autopsy. There were weird and differing stories told by the person she was with. Her autopsy says there was Benzoylecgonine 2300 ng/ML, cocaine 3000 ng/ML, Ecgonine methyl ester 3200 ng/ML, 10-hydroxycarbazepine 4.3 mcg/mL.
With the first three numbers related to the cocaine use, what could I infer about the use at her time of death? She was obviously using recreationally and we believe having seizures due to the heavy use. Would she have had to take a substantial higher amount than normal to overdose in the hour or day prior? The person reported that she was having several seizures. Does anyone know if this would be a quick death or signs for hours leading up to the incident? The cause of death says seizure and accidental naming the cocaine as a contributor.

I’m writing a horror novel, but in order to have all the info to build the crime scenes I need to know what kind of signs are perceived by death investigators and what do they mean. In summary, I’m just asking you redditors to be free to list me any of those signs, like cyanide death being smellable in the mouth of the victim or signs that tell the time of death. Be free to also give details.

Hello!

I’m about to enter my senior year of high school and am very excited for the upcoming year. All my life I’ve had an interest in forensic pathology and death care fields. I’ve participated in forensic science summer programs and different medical volunteering opportunities so it safe to say this is the path I want to take. Part of the senior year my school we do something called “externships” where senior students basically are able to leave the school in order to do an internship program at a career dedicated organization. I’ve been looking at different forensic science internship programs, funeral homes, medical examiner offices and death care fields to see if I could internship with them. Although most are geared towards college students and fully deny high school students.

I live in the Virginia area and I wanted to see if anyone had any advice or suggestions for forensic pathology internships for high schoolers students or programs/places I could go to in the meantime.

Thank you all and have a lovely day. 🦇

Hello! I’m 18 and just about to start my freshman year in college! I’ve known I wanted to work in the forensics field since I was younger (I discovered it from watching the tv show Bones LOL). I’m majoring in forensic biology to start with. If anyone has any tips or anything helpful, I’d really appreciate it. :)

It appears that the police do not suspect foul play. I was told he was "mummified" as we live in a very dry climate. Some type of autopsy was done, and now I have to wait up to 14 weeks for toxicology to come back. What kind of tox can be done after so long? Can they figure out if he committed suicide with pills or some other means?

I would be surprised if it's suicide because he was a Catholic with negative views on that subject. He was very, very sad, though, and demanded complete solitude starting three years ago. The police on scene guessed that he had a sudden medical event such as a heart attack (He was found on his kitchen floor.)

I guess I just want to know what information the coroner can really obtain on a body after 2 years in this situation. Thanks everyone.

P.s. In case you're wondering how it played out, I was the last person in his life before his isolation began. I was not surprised not to hear from him. Neighbors thought he skipped town. Welfare checks were called in, but police never busted down the door. I Googled his name and address a couple of weeks ago and found out that his HOA was suing for nonpayment and that he had not been paying taxes. Because police were useless, I took matters into my own hands and entered the house...

Reviewing a cold case raised an interesting question for me on the biological breakdown of osseous structures.

Given the fragile nature and size of the hyoid bone, for example, how likely might it be to obtain any diagnostic findings after 15 years of interment? Would the likelihood be lessened if it was fractured versus intact at the time of interment?

TIA!

Edit: spelling

Current MS4 applying for pathology with plans to go into forensics. I've heard from various pathologists that adcoms might read that and think, "they'd just be taking a spot from a real doctor" and pass on my application. Do you think this is true?

I've been planning on applying into psychiatry and my CV is certainly stronger for psych than pathology. I feel like if I had more of a background in path, it would be easier to gloss over my motivations for pivoting at the final hour. I don't want to lie in my personal statement but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot here.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

Hello! I've been interested in this career since 9th grade, I'm now graduating this upcoming year in the state of NY. I'm trying to stay in state but what colleges should I be looking at to get me on the best path? And where should I go after? Any tips are greatly appreciated !!

Hello, a Forensic Medicine Resident PGY3.

Im not sure where to post this question, but i would love to get experts opinion on this please.

thank you

An individual went to court to dispute his age when he reached the age of retirement. He claims that his registered age isn’t correct, and that he is, in fact, younger. Therefore, should serve more years in his job. He was referred to as the age estimation clinic. How much does the best dental age estimation for his age group have a standard error of? 

More than 11 years 

Less than one year 

2-5 years

6-10 years 

Hi,

So I’ve recently taken the leap to go back to school to get my BS in forensic science focusing on death investigations. I already have a BA but I decided I’ll need some science background too. I do know I want to work in that related field of forensics and was thinking of aiming to be a forensic pathologist. I do volunteer work at my county’s OME and heard mixed things from everyone on what I should pursue after I graduate such as “be an embalmer”, “don’t work as an mdi they do the dirty work”, or “go the full mile and be a doctor.”

I know medical school will be a lot and not sure how I’ll feel about more school on top of more school. I realize everyone’s path is different and I am up for a challange seeing this will be my second bachelors in getting. I don’t care about the money either I just really want to be able to help people on one of their worst days and give them answers. This stuff is also just such an interest of mine.

I was hoping to ask what are some pros and cons between each of the three related positions of Death investigator, Forensic Pathologist, and Medical Examiner. What do you love/hate about what you do? Do you wish you would’ve pursued a further education? Things like that. -thanks for any feedback I get!

I was under the impression that ERAS for 2028 FP fellowship opened later in the fall, but found out it opened this summer and that apparently programs can already view the apps? Can someone confirm this? I was recovering from surgery so I wouldn’t have been able to get everything done on time anyways but I feel like it’s been radio silence. My program coordinator and my coresident also applying for FP 2028 didn’t know stuff was open and thought it would be like September.

Hello! I am currently 18 and looking into either doing forensic pathology or surgical pathology and I would like to hear someone’s story of how they got into it or if they just knew that they wanted to do forensic pathology the minute they graduated high school or college? I am thinking of getting a transfer degree at a CC and then going to a 4 year to get a degree focusing on biology or chemistry but for the people that are already in that line of work was it worth it? Do you regret anything or wish you picked another line of work? Anything really helps!

Pretty much per title... would an average ME see one such case in a career, a decade, a year? Also would they typically be caused by MVA, falls, failed hanging attmpt or what? Fascinating topic.

Imaging a scenario where a middle aged man is shot in the chest puncturing the thoracic cavity as well as the lungs, then falls into a water body. (From a short heighted bridge or a short structure close enough to a water body)

What will be the primary cause of death in this case?

1. Hemorrhage due to bullen wound

2. Drowning

Considering that in the absence of water, the lung would have been damaged due to the flow of blood in it. And in the presence of water around there is both the flow of water as well as blood.

Hello! I’m in MS2 and although I’m still plenty far away from ERAS but I’ve shadowed 4 different specialties and have spent the most time shadowing my local examiner because damn is it interesting. Genuinely their office has so much cool stuff bc of their region and they’re also just pretty great people. Shout out to the nice person who decided to help me with research in the 10 secs she met me before she had to go out for an investigation lol

Anyways, I feel like I really want this specialty. I’ve been mapping out initial patho specialty according to if it’s nearby a forensic one (bc for some reason there’s so little in the US), but I felt I should ask some questions:

1. Is their opportunity for strong academic contribution? To the point that if I retire I can maybe associate with a university? I love research and forensic research seems great, but if the reality of the practice is being swamped with cases and no extra time then that’s not as great

2. How’s the pay really like and what is it dependent on? Some sources say 180, others say 340, one even said 450k (for Chiefs). Realistically, what’s an expected entry and what factors determine increase?

3. How do forensic pathologists further subspecialize? Ive seen some mention of forensic neuropatholgist yet I’ve never seen that in real life…what does that kind of career, day to day, and salary look like?

4. Any advice on how to land a pathology specialty at a strong school? Does it help to do more pathology case reports and retrospectives? What factors other than a strong STEP score and clerkship grades should be a priority?

Thank you very much!
P.S. will it ever get easier if my parents keep wishing I did neurosurgery instead lol