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Forensic Disciplines and Methods

Forensic Toxicology

Toxicology

The detection and interpretation of drugs, poisons and other chemical substances in the body for legal purposes. The 1910 Crippen case, in which the victim was poisoned, is an early example of the discipline informing a criminal investigation. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
What It Examines
Body fluids and tissues, tested for alcohol, drugs, poisons and their metabolites, and interpreted for what the concentrations found mean for behavior and cause of death. 1
Formalized Year
1813 2
Dated to Mathieu Orfila's treatise Traite des poisons, credited with founding forensic toxicology as a systematic discipline.
Known LimitationSourced to the subject's own account
Detection windows vary by substance and can be affected by post-mortem redistribution, which complicates interpreting drug concentrations measured after death. 3
Discipline
Discipline (category)
Toxicology 1
Forensic Toxicology
Filter Results1 entry

Crippen Case

Forensic Toxicology
Connections

Associated With

American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Criminal Justice Institutions

Forensic Toxicology is one of AAFS's eleven disciplinary sections, organizing its own toxicologist membership since the Academy's founding.

Source Membership in the Forensic Toxicology Section
Forensic Chemistry, Forensic Disciplines and Methods

Forensic toxicology is treated as a subfield of forensic chemistry, sharing its analytical chemical methods.

Source Wikipedia: Forensic Chemistry
National Institute of Forensic Science, Criminal Justice Institutions

NIFS (now ANZPAA NIFS) facilitates a dedicated Toxicology Specialist Advisory Group coordinating standards across Australia and New Zealand.

Source ANZPAA NIFS: Forensic Science

Cases Where Used

Crippen Case, Landmark Cases
Source Wikipedia: Hawley Harvey Crippen

Examines Within

Toxicology, Subcategories

Pioneered By

Mathieu Orfila, Criminologists and Reformers

Mathieu Orfila, author of the 1813 Traite des poisons, is widely regarded as the father of forensic toxicology as a scientific discipline.

Robert F. Borkenstein, Criminologists and Reformers
Sources
1. Saferstein, Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science
Richard Saferstein, Pearson
2. Mathieu Orfila (Wikipedia)
Role in forensic toxicology section
Quote, Role in forensic toxicology section
Orfila created new techniques, refined existing techniques and described them in his first treatise, Traité des poisons (1813), greatly enhancing their accuracy.
View the Source
3. Wikipedia: Forensic Toxicology
introduction
Quote, introduction
Forensic toxicology is a multidisciplinary field that combines the principles of toxicology with expertise in disciplines such as analytical chemistry, pharmacology and clinical chemistry to aid medical or legal investigation of death, poisoning, and drug use.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Hawley Harvey Crippen
  • Murder and disappearance section
    Senior scientific analyst to the Home Office William Willcox found traces of the toxic compound hyoscine hydrobromide (scopolamine) in the torso.
  • Cases Where Used: Crippen Case
View the Source
Wikipedia: Forensic Chemistry
WikipediaAssociated With: Forensic Chemistry, IntroductionView the Source
Membership in the Forensic Toxicology Section
Associated With: American Academy of Forensic SciencesView the Source
ANZPAA NIFS: Forensic Science
Associated With: National Institute of Forensic ScienceView the Source
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