54 Forensic dentistrywill be collected from the body as appropriate during the examination, and
clothing and other salient materials will be preserved for evidentiary pur-
poses as needed. Photographs of injuries and of the decedent for identifi-
cation and documentation purposes will also be obtained. The degree to
which autopsy technicians assist forensic pathologists will vary from office
to office, depending on staffing, tradition, and local philosophy. In some
offices, assistants may perform eviscerations of bodies under supervision
of forensic pathologists (Figure 4.3), though the actual dissection of organs
is almost always performed by the pathologist. In others, only pathologists
eviscerate bodies. Either system is acceptable as long as all of these activities
are under the direct supervision of a forensic pathologist. Assistants may
also perform clerical duties, take radiographs, draw blood or other toxicol-
ogy specimens, suture bodies closed, clean the body and examination area,
assist in removal of clothing, and assist with inventory and preservation of
clothing and evidence.
As a part of the medical or autopsy section, a modern medical examiner’s
office will maintain relationships with expert consultants to assist the medical
examiner in specialized areas. One of the most important and commonly
utilized consultants is the forensic odontologist. A trained and certified dental
practitioner provides invaluable aid in helping to establish identification of
decedents by dental comparison and in the evaluation of bitemark evidence ,
which may be invaluable in linking an assailant to a homicide victim.
Anthropologists assist the pathologist in evaluation of skeletal remains, again,
in an effort to establish identification by narrowing the age, race, and sex of
Figure 4.3 Beginning evisceration (removal of body organs) by the autopsy
technician.