Forensic Medicine Unit
Heraklion University Hospital

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The Forensic Medicine Unit’s missions are:

• To aid the investigative authorities falling under the local Court of Appeal, as well as authorities based at other prefectures, in daily forensic casework
• To train and educate undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Medical School of the University of Crete, as well as junior doctors, as part of their specialization in Forensic Medicine and Anthropology
• To promote research in Forensic Medicine and other fields, including Forensic Anthropology, Post Mortem Imaging, Histopathology and Post Mortem Microscopy, often in collaboration with other research facilities (e.g. The National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos”, IMBB – FORTH).

Forensic investigations handled by FMU include:

• Participation in crime/death scene investigations in collaboration with local authities in cases of suspicious or unexpected deaths
• Application of post mortem imaging techniques in forensic cases
• Performing autopsies in order to establish the cause and manner of death in violent, suspicious and sudden deaths
• Body fluid and organ tissue samping
• Preparation and microscopical examination of tissue samples
• Identification of unkown bodies using anthropological and other methods
• Examination of skeletal remains and single bones using anthropological and other methods
• Implementation of forensic methodology in the investigation of death in clinical cases or in the investigation of hospital deaths

FMU has been conformed with the No. R(99) 3 recommendation by the Council of Europe regarding the investigation of forensic cases and the composing of official forensic reports.

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