The object and purpose of this article is to highlight some major defects in respect to forensic investigations in Sri Lanka and to propose remedial measures to those identified voids. The substances for this article are those that the author personally observed as a member of a forensic investigation team, as an academic in forensic medical science and as a lawyer.

Not many people in Sri Lanka have heard about forensic archeology. I had the rare opportunity to undergo a training program and an internship in the US on Human Identification in which I came across the nature scope and application of forensic archeology, in addition to studying all other disciplines on forensic identification. Although, I have perused papers written on forensic archeology aspect at that time, I did not have much insight into it until 2007 ( I was on post graduate studies in the US by then), where I had the opportunity to study this aspect as well and network with professionals involved in this discipline.

Anatomical variations of the left renal vein have been investigated and reported bv anatomists as well as pathologists and surgeons for more than two centuries. Knowledge of such anatomical variations of the left renal vein is of extreme importance to the surgeon during surgical procedures involving the kidneys, abdominal aorta and retroperitoneal regions.

There are a very few notions that many of us agree, unarguably. The fact that our society is "highly traditional and bureaucratic" is one such entity. It is not the aim of this essay to contend why our society is traditional and bureaucratic in an analytic perspective, but, empirically it is pertinent to examine and investigate how this traditional structure has affected engendering "gaps" between medico-legal métiers. I am not attempting to endorse Derrida in de-structuring the entire construction here, but to elucidate some ill-effects it has delivered and to postulate propositions to proceed in bridging some extant vital gaps and voids.

Forensic identification is easy if an entire human body is available with minimal decomposition. Once decomposition has set in or when parts of the body are missing, identification becomes difficult or at times impossible using classical methods. In such situations DNA has proved to be useful for identification and increasingly, forensic studies utilize DNA profiles of individuals to establish identity.

Major Histo Compatibility Complex (MHC) mapped to locate in the short arm of the chromosome 6 of the human being, contains a group of genes that code for proteins (antigens) expressed in a variety of cell types known as Human Leukocyte Antigens or HLA. This MHC/HLA system is involved in the immune system. It is a highly polymorphic DNA ( Deoxy Ribo Nucleic Acid) system : the very reason for its use in forensic crime and paternity work in addition to detect tissue compatibility in transplants.

Photographic superimposition is a technique used for identification purposes in forensic practice. Skulls of skeletanised bodies, mass graves and putrefied bodies could be subjected to photographic superimposition with an ante-mortem photograph of the suspected victim with a life size photograph of the skull tested. An opinion regarding the identity would be made to courts based on superimposing anatomical landmarks and facial anthropometry. In order to facilitate photographic superimposition a skull holder is required with the facility of maintaining differential positions of the face and the skull to suit the view and the angle of the photograph to be superimposed. The aim of this project was to design and construct a low cost adjustable skull holder for purposes of forensic superimposition.

Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann; Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a facultative ecto-parasitic fly, distributed throughout the temperate and subtropical regions of the world. This blow fly species is of medical, veterinary, and forensic importance due to it being used in maggot debridement therapy (MDT), a causative agent of myiasis, and a decomposer of vertebrate carrion. The current study examined the combined effects of temperature and tissue type on the development of L. cuprina. Specimens were reared on three tissue types; swine muscle, swine liver, and bovine muscle at 20°C, 25°C, 27°C, and 38°C. The optimum condition for L. cuprina development was for immatures reared on bovine muscle (287.4 h) followed by those reared on swine muscle (288.0 h) and swine liver (288.4 h) at 27°C. The minimum temperature threshold of L. cuprina was deduced to be 14°C. No significant differences in larval width and length over time were determined for the tissue type.

Many reports indicate that children are abused everyday worldwide. They are abused in many different ways. Literature suggests that the numbers of reported abuses against children are a mere tip of an iceberg accordingly, there are many unreported cases - some are hidden or covered. Thus, child abuse becomes a social problem. Many seem to ignore child abuses, others of course will justify. Admittedly there are a few who will hide such abuses under a carpet or give a blind eye. In some societies child abuse has become a part of an accepted cultural practice- for example corporal punishments or female genital mutilations. Fortunately, there are some of us in the society who will voice against abuse of children. The social responses to child abuse are reflected in clinical sets up in similar ways. This means that some clinicians will ignore abuses while others may not care. The problem becomes aggravated in clinical scenarios especially when the clinician is not trained in identifying an imminent child abuse. In this context, this paper seeks to find a connection between clinical dental practice and child abuse. In short, I will argue and demonstrate in this paper that the presentations of cases of child abuse are not uncommon to the dental clinician, but that they are often times presented with alternate histories so that they can be easily missed by the clinician, if not looked through forensic lenses.

Chrysomya bezziana Villeneuve is the major human myiasis producer in tropical countries, including Sri Lanka. Although of great medical and veterinary importance, only a single study has been published on the development of C. bezziana. This limitation is due in part to the difficulty of maintaining this species in a colony outside of using a living host. In this study, a novel technique that overcomes this limitation is presented along with development data for C. bezziana fed on three different meat types: swine muscle, swine liver, and bovine muscle at two temperature regimes: 35 and 37°C. The optimum development of C. bezziana was recorded at 35°C in bovine muscle (262.20 h) followed by swine muscle (286.00 h) and swine liver (307.00 h). Data from the current study indicate tissue type significantly impacts change in length and width of larvae over time, whereas the two temperatures examined had no significant effect.