The battered child
- Series Title(s):
- Clinical pathology series. Forensic medicine outlines
- Contributor(s):
- Helpern, Milton, 1902-1977 Emory University. School of Medicine. National Medical Audiovisual Center.
- Publication:
- [Atlanta] : National Medical Audiovisual Center, 1969
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Moving image
- Subject(s):
- Battered Child Syndrome Child Abuse Coroners and Medical Examiners Forensic Medicine
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this presentation is to describe the role of the medical examiner and describe and demonstrate clinical findings which should alert the medical examiner to the possibility that death has resulted from battering. This objective is achieved with the aid of photographs of clinical examples and views of gross specimens. In this presentation Dr. Milton Helpern first discusses the role of the medical examiner investigating the cause of death. He notes that while the medical examiner should listen carefully to the history as presented by the parents, he should look very closely to see if that story fits the facts as he sees them. Whenever he discovers evidence contrary to the story, this evidence should be reported promptly to the proper authorities. Dr. Helpern stresses that the medical examiner is in no way accusing anyone of a crime, he is simply reporting the results of his investigation. Dr. Helpern then provides examples from his files of children who were brought in dead or died shortly after admission to the hospital. He describes the initial findings, the results of the postmortem examination, the story told by the parents or guardians, what actually did occur and how the investigation of the lesions provided the medical examiner with the cause of death. Dr. Helpern notes that one injury in itself may not cause the death of a child but that these children are usually repeatedly battered and many times the death results from the accumulation of many injuries.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 054 min.
- Color:
- Black and white
- Sound:
- Sound
- Credits:
- Milton Helpern.
- Technique:
- Live action
- NLM Unique ID:
- 7602286A (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/7602286A