Application of virtopsy in forensic pathology

Abstract

Virtopsy employs computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, which are commonly used in clinical medicine, to determine the cause and manner of death. Virtopsy is a multidisciplinary technique that combines forensic medicine, pathology, radiology, computer graphics, biomechanics, and physics. Virtopsy is rapidly gaining importance in forensic science and has been extensively studied in several areas of forensic pathology. In this study, we reviewed domestic and international research on causes of death, traffic injuries, medical disputes, gunshot trauma, postmortem changes, and inference of time of death to discuss with colleagues the role of virtopsy in forensic pathology.