Terminology of forensic medicine for translators in Berlin

On 5 May 2018 I attended a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity for translators in Berlin offering an introduction to forensic medicine. I translate forensic medicine documents occasionally – especially Brazilian autopsy reports, but also occasionally a Brazilian death certificate with terminology of forensic medicine in the form field “cause of death” – and I wanted to broaden my knowledge of this interesting intersection of the medical and legal (one of my specialities) disciplines. The seminar was organised by the German Federal Association of Translators and Interpreters, Berlin-Brandenburg chapter.

The presenter, Dr. Carla Schönfeld, is an expert in forensic medicine at the Department of Forensic Pathology of Berlin’s Institute of Forensic and Social Medicine, and replaced her colleague Dr. Denise Dümpelmann.

Topics included the work routine in forensic medicine, especially performing physical examinations in injured/accused parties, assessing the ability to stand trial, necropsy and dissection.

I found the overview of signs of death (postmortem lividity, postmortem rigidity, putrefaction) especially interesting. Complementing the seminar’s programme, there was a short presentation on the basics of human anatomy.

The seminar’s climax was definitely the part about forensic traumatology with a fascinating explanation of the different bodily injuries (blunt weapons, cuts and bruises, skull fracture etc.).

In the end he presenter showed us examples of reports, expert opinions and legal instructions usually written by forensic doctors.

Event details