Forensic Pathology and Post-Mortem Molecular Investigation: Contemporary Approaches

This chapter reviews recent advances in forensic pathology, highlighting how the integration of post-mortem molecular diagnostics, including post-mortem genetic testing, toxicogenomics, and RNA degradation profiling for time-of-death estimation, is transforming medico-legal investigation. It addresses the growing importance of molecular autopsy in cases of sudden unexplained death, particularly in identifying inherited cardiac channelopathies and cardiomyopathies that leave no discernible morphological findings at conventional autopsy. The chapter also examines developments in post-mortem imaging, the pathological interpretation of injury patterns in the context of advanced biomechanical modeling, and the ethical and legal considerations surrounding the retention and use of post-mortem biological samples for research purposes.