Book excerpt: Written and edited by the most respected authorities in forensic nursing and forensic sciences, this new edition provides the tools and concepts you need to collect evidence that is admissible in court, determine the significance of that evidence, and provide accurate, reliable testimony while administering high-quality patient care. Now in full color throughout, it remains the most comprehensive, highly illustrated text of its kind. - Provides a comprehensive, updated guide to forensic nursing science, paying special attention to the International Association of Forensic Nurses's (IAFN) goals for forensic nursing. - Retains a focus on assessment skills and the collection and preservation of evidence, following the established guidelines of the forensic sciences. Prepares you to provide testimony as a fact witness or a forensic nursing expert. Includes an illustrated case study in almost every chapter, helping you relate the information to clinical practice. - Highlights important recommendations for interventions in Best Practice boxes, including the evidence base for each. - Summarizes important points in Key Point boxes, so you can quickly review the most important concepts in each chapter. - Explores the evolving role of forensic nurses in today's health care facilities and the community. - Edited by Virginia Lynch, founding member and first President of the International Association of Forensic Nurses and Janet Barber Duval, both well-respected pioneers and educators in the field. - Contains 300 full-color illustrations integrated throughout the text, so you can view evidence quickly and easily, as it is likely to appear in practice. - Presents information on courtroom testimony and depositions in one reorganized, streamlined chapter, giving you a full, organized treatment of this extremely important topic. - Includes twelve new chapters: Digital Evidence, Medical Evidence Recovery at the Death Scene, Asphyxia, Electrical and Thermal Injury, Intrafamilial Homicide and Unexplained Childhood Death, Human Trafficking, Credential Development for Forensic Nurses, Gangs and Hate Crimes, Ethics Issues in Forensic Nursing, Forensic Physics and Fracture Analysis, Sexual Deviant Behaviors and Crime and Forensic Epidemiology. - Contains heavily revised information on Prehospital Evidence, Forensic Investigation in the Hospital, and Human Abuse and Deaths in Custody. - Features critical thinking questions with every case study, so you can thoroughly consider the implications of each clinical scenario.