Abstract
Medicolegal Death Investigation is highlighted in this important issue of Academic Forensic Pathology, appropriately dedicated to Dr. Joseph Davis and edited by Mary Fran Ernst, two individuals playing sentinel roles in the establishment of professional medicolegal death investigations. These individuals are among the great leaders who defined this specialty as an integral component to a modern medical legal death investigation system.
Professional medicolegal death investigation was founded and advanced under the pioneering work in Miami, St. Louis and other forward thinking and innovative medical examiner systems. As forensic practices throughout the country strove for excellence, it was quickly realized the absolute necessity of a new type of investigator - the Medicolegal death investigator who combined the essentials of crime investigation and medical knowledge into the professional death scene investigator. Duties and roles soon extended to beyond the actual death scene to performance improvements, public health monitoring, and death notification and next-of-kin services among countless others. The basics of death investigation and the stellar growth of this profession, now with training tracts and multiple levels of certifications are highlighted in this important issue. The responsibilities of forensic pathology do not start and stop at the autopsy door. Excellent death investigation by trained and certified practitioners are integral to medical examiner systems. All practitioners of forensic medicine should embrace and learn from this issue.
