The purpose of this research is to examine the emerging field of forensic radiology. The plan of the research will be to set forth a working definition of the discipline of forensic pathology and then to discuss the ways in which the discipline is developing, not only on account of methods employed in recent years to exploit the technical capabilities of x-ray technology but also (and more crucially) on account of the enlarged range of medical and legal applications implied by improved technical capabilities.

What must be understood first about forensic radiology is that as of late 1998 it is not a term in wide and common use in the professional literature. To be sure, forensic medicine has long been a part of scientific discourse, associated in both the popular culture and in scientific, professional, and law-…