Knight's Forensic Pathology PDF

Preface to the third edition

It is pleasant to record that the second edition of Forensic Pathology consolidated the international reputation of the original book as one of the foremost manuals of forensic pathology in the English language. This new third edition generally follows the same successful pattern, but there are some significant differences.

The editorship is being transferred to Professor Pekka Saukko and this volume is the product of the collaboration with the original author. As with previous editions, the text has undergone a complete revision to update where necessary and add new material where relevant. A major change is the extensive use of colour to replace original monochrome illustrations and in numerous new illustrations, including micrographs. More than 300 colour illustrations have been added, of which 175 are completely new from the archives of both the Cardiff and Finnish institutes, and others. Another major improvement has been in the reference material where both corrections and numerous additions have been made. ‘Further reading' is intended for those readers who do not have access to electronic libraries and to offer an overview of the literature on a particular topic.

The new edition maintains the philosophy of evidencebased forensic pathology with emphasis on the avoidance of over-interpretation, which regrettably still leads to instances of miscarriage of justice.

It is hoped that the new edition of this well-established textbook, with its emphasis on practical procedures and common-sense evaluation of autopsy findings, will continue to be of assistance to forensic pathologists all over the world.