[Determination of the total work incapacity].

At the request of the patient or required by a requisition, the physician may be asked to deliver medical certificates with determination of total work incapacity (TWI). This is an attestation of what he has observed and incurs his penal, civil and ethical responsability. The drafting of such certificates implies not only the doctor and the patient, but also the judicial authorities and the alleged offender or offenders.

Law of 22 April 2005 on patients' rights and the end of life in France: setting the boundaries of euthanasia, with regard to current legislation in other European countries.

The term 'euthanasia' is not clearly defined. Euthanasia is evoked in many aspects of terminal care: interruption of curative treatment at the end of life, palliative care or the act of deliberately provoking death through compassion. A law on 'patients' rights and the end of life', promulgated in France on 22 April 2005, led to changes in the French Code of Public Health.

Fatal poisoning due to snorting buprenorphine and alcohol consumption.

High dosage buprenorphine (Subutex(®)) has been prescribed as a replacement therapy for major opioid dependencies in France since 1996. However, several studies have underlined its lethal risk, especially when administered intravenously, or when combined with benzodiazepines, alcohol or other central nervous system depressants. We report three fatal buprenorphine-related poisonings after snorting, among outside protocol individuals, observed at the Forensic Medicine Unit of Caen University Hospital.

Comparative analysis of medicolegal compensation for occupational cancers in France and other western European countries: development proposals.

In France, contemporary medicolegal reparation system of occupational diseases--in particular occupational cancer--has been questioned, constantly, due to changes in the state's legal system. For a long time, associated legislation was considered as a genuine social breakthrough. However, it shall remain acknowledged that over the past 15 years, it has been the French legal system itself that generated a certain level of inequality among victims of occupational diseases.

Children employed in the performing arts, advertising and fashion industry: what legal protection do they have?

Ill-treatment can sometimes take on an unfamiliar face. Particularly, this is the case for certain types of child employment. In France, as in most European countries, there are laws for protecting children and guaranteeing their right to schooling.

The French medico-legal concept of aptitude and fitness appraisal by occupational physicians: an ethical issue?

For many years, medical aptitude in occupational health, a French exception, did not raise any particular issue. However, from the 1980's onwards, this concept has been approached from a more critical point of view, authors questioning its compatibility with personal liberty. The increase in precarious working conditions have but reinforced such criticism, raising the question of the confrontation of such a concept with due respect of the right to work and the right for health protection.

Age at death estimation of adult males using coxal bone and CT scan: a preliminary study.

Introduction: Age at death estimation is of major importance for the forensic scientist. Currently, various methods have used macroscopic osseous criteria for articular surfaces. Particularly in the pelvis, articular surfaces are used to classify bone evolution and age.

Injuries inflicted by a pet ferret on a child: morphological aspects and comparison with other mammalian pet bite marks.

Ferrets are becoming more and more popular pets in American homes. Nevertheless, they can cause potentially dangerous injuries, particularly in small children. Based on the case of an infant injured by a ferret, the characteristics of the wounds are described and compared with those of other animals.