Clinical Forensic Medicine

To the Editor.  —We read with interest Dr Uva's¹ Resident Forum article concerning clinical forensic medicine. While reinforcing her comments concerning the need for proper assessment of survivors of violence, we feel it is necessary to emphasize that clinical forensic medicine should not be solely defined, as in her article, as "the application of forensic medical techniques to the survivors of violence."Clinical forensic medicine may relate to any area in which medicine, law enforcement, and the judiciary come into contact. The Association of Police Surgeons in the United Kingdom, originally established in 1951, is the largest body undertaking such work, representing approximately 1000 clinicians, and clinical forensic medicine has its own section within the Royal Society of Medicine. Within the United Kingdom there are an increasing number of specialist forensic physicians devoting all or a substantial part of their clinical workload to forensic medicine. They are self-employed, independent,