Forensic Pathology Tools and Equipment
Forensic pathologists have the very difficult job of determining the cause of death in the deceased usually when it is considered suspicious. It is a very detailed job that requires a variety of tools and equipment to help them come to a conclusion.
In this guide we shall look at some of the tools and equipment that forensic pathologists use to perform autopsies.
Enterotome
The enterotome is a large pair of scissors that are used for opening up the intestines. It works by inserting the bulb-shaped blade into the hollow inside of the gut (the lumen). The enterotome is then smoothly stripped down the length of the intestine. The purpose of the blunt bulb-shaped blade is to prevent the perforating blade from perforating the intestine from the inside.
Hagedorn Needle
The hagedorn needle is another important part of any forensic pathologists’ tool box. It is a large needle that is used for sewing up the body after the autopsy has been completed. The type of stitching they use is similar to that used on baseballs. Forensic pathologists use heavy twine for the procedure which is much stronger than other materials.
Skull Chisel
The skull chisel is used after scoring the vault-like part of the skull holding the brain (the calvarium) with a hand saw. The chisel then finishes the separation of the top of the calvarium from the bottom part of the skull to expose the brain for an autopsy.
Scissors
The scissors used in forensic pathology are pretty much standard scissors. They are used for opening hollow organs and trimming off tissues. The scissors can also be used for blunt dissection using an opening motion as opposed to the traditional closing motion used in cutting.
Scalpel
The scalpels used by forensic pathologists differ to those used by surgeons in that they have a longer handle to enable them to dig deeper into cavities. The blade is disposable and is usually a #22 size – the largest blade commonly available.
Bone Saw
The hand bone saw is rarely used today thanks to the introduction of vibrating saws that are more vigorous and powerful. However, many forensic pathologists still favor the hand bone saw because they fear that the aerosols thrown up by the vibrating saw can cause infection.
Vibrating/Stryker Saw
The vibrating saw – also known as the stryker saw – is the most commonly used tool for removing the brain from the skull during an autopsy. The blade on the saw moves rapidly with small amplitude. This minimal action prevents the blade from cutting the soft tissues – including the forensic pathologists’ hand! As we mentioned before, the only disadvantage is that vibrating saws can throw up more potentially infectious aerosols during the procedure than hand saws do.
Rib Cutters
Rib cutters are quite self explanatory – they are used for cutting through the ribs prior to lifting them off the chest plate. Rib cutters look like small pruning shears – and in fact many forensic pathologists use pruning shears that are purchased from hardware stores as they are much cheaper.
Toothed Forceps
Toothed forceps have teeth on them to help give strength when gripping heavy organs for removal from the body. Toothed forceps aren’t used in surgical pathology because the teeth are a liability as they increase the chance of cross-contamination between specimens – so in these cases they will use un-toothed forceps.
Hammer with Hook
The hammer with a hook is used alongside the chisel to help separate the upper skull from the lower skull. The hook on the hammer is very useful in pulling the calvarium away.
Breadknife
The breadknife can also be referred to as a long knife. The knife is used to smoothly cut organs into thin slices for examination, display and photography of the cut surfaces of them. Some very talented forensic pathologists pride themselves on being able to almost all of the soft tissue dissections using a breadknife alone. Breadknives used to only have disposable blades but these days there are models with permanent, resharpenable blades available.
