OPINION Forensic Medicine: A Forgotten World of Opportunities and Challenges for Research Teresa Magalh~ aes, a,b,c,d Agostinho Santos, a,b,d and Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira a,d,e,f,g a Department of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal b National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, North Branch, Porto, Portugal c Biomedical Sciences Institute ‘‘Abel Salazar’’, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal d Forensic Sciences CentereCENCIFOR, Portugal e Department of Sciences, Advanced Institute of Health ScienceseNorth (ISCS-N), CESPU, CRL, Gandra, Portugal f Department of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technologies, Polytechnic Health InstituteeNorth, CESPU, CRL, Vila Nova de Famalic~ ao, Portugal g REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Received for publication May 10, 2013; accepted June 29, 2013 (ARCMED-D-13-00254). Forensic medicine deals with a wide variety of cases. To accomplish the main objectives, this professional field needs to adopt and apply findings from other sciences, namely, different medical specialties and other forensic sciences. The opposite is not yet entirely true due to the fact that forensic medicine deals with cases that are very far away from other medical and scientific interests. It is obvious that this forgotten world of forensic medicine . is also a new world of opportunities and challenges to research in all scien- tific areas. Ó 2013 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. Key Words: Forensic medicine, Pure research, Multidisciplinary research. Introduction Forensic medicine (FM) is an area of the forensic sciences of exclusive medical competence. It comprises two main fields of intervention: forensic pathology and clinical forensic medicine. Forensic pathology deals with cadaveric remains and, therefore, performs mainly autopsies. In some jurisdictions, as occurs in Portugal, forensic doctors also integrate the crime scene investigation team. Clinical forensic medicine deals with living persons, performing medical examinations aiming to clarify health and trau- matic issues with possible legal repercussions. Although cases related with natural diseases are also frequent, the main object of these forensic medical interventions is the victim of violence (direct and indirect). Regarding the cases of violence, they may have voluntary or non-voluntary causes, criminal and non-criminal repercussions and fatal or non-fatal consequences. However, this broad scope of intervention characteristic of the Portuguese forensic orga- nization is not consensual because it depends on the legal system of each country. Indeed, in several jurisdictions, this intervention is limited to criminal cases. Despite recent global interest in FM, the specialty has experienced many ups and downs in its development. Today the reality is different because the media has highlighted the work of forensic specialists and so created unprece- dented interest in and fascination with the specialty. FM began to develop from the 16 th century in several European countries including France, Italy and Germany. In 1553 the Germanic Emperor, Charles V, published and proclaimed the ‘‘Caroline Code,’’ which clearly stated that expert med- ical testimony must be obtained for the guidance of the judges in cases of murder, maiming, poisoning, hanging, drowning, infanticide, and abortion and in other circum- stances involving injury to the person (1). France also had an early start in FM among European countries and together with Germany both enacted laws that favored the development of this academic discipline. The first major work on this subject belongs to Ambroise Par e in 1585 (2). Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing financial, pro- fessional or personal interests that might have influenced the performance or presentation of the work described in this manuscript. Funding: This work received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Address reprint requests to: Ricardo Jorge Dinis-Oliveira, Department of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Jardim Carrilho Videira, 4050-167 Porto, Portugal; Phone: 00351 222073850; FAX: 00351 222083978; E-mail: ricardinis@med.up.pt 0188-4409/$ - see front matter. Copyright Ó 2013 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.arcmed.2013.08.001 Archives of Medical Research 44 (2013) 479e481