WITH television shows such as Crime Scene Investigation and The X-Files etched into popular culture, the forensic pathologist has become an increasingly familiar figure.
But the reality is often different from that depicted on screen, and not everything is as glamorous as Scully might make out.
State pathologist Sophocles Sophocleous painted a more prosaic picture of exactly what the job involves.
“For sure, it’s a very interesting, subtle, specialised and demanding job, and it’s obviously not to everybody’s tastes,” he told the Sunday Mail. “The aim is to help doctors establish why somebody has died and to help out in ensuring justice is served, where appropriate.”
The 48-year-old described his day-to-day role as “visiting different hospitals to perform post-mortem examinations, which I do after being invited by the police. I will also testify in court, where I will give my opinions and explain my reports.”
Sophocleous, who studied medicine in Rome and went on specialise in forensic medicine in Salonica, was appointed to the role in 1996.
“Before I took up my position, I knew what would be involved and I believe that you need to care about your job in order to achieve results.
“Before specialising in forensic medicine, I learnt to separate work from my private life. I obviously wouldn’t be able to do my job if I couldn’t separate the two. I knew this before starting out.”
Forensic pathology is a specialised area of pathology in general. The forensic pathologist performs post-mortems to determine the cause and manner of death in situations falling under the jurisdiction of the local medical examiner or coroner.
These situations however, are not limited to violent deaths such as murders, accidents and suicides. Other categories are: suspicious deaths, sudden and unexpected deaths, deaths in children and infants, prisoners, persons under the care of an institution, situations where illicit drugs or alcohol may have contributed to the death, deaths occurring during or in close proximity to a surgical procedure, deaths in individuals not under the care of a physician or when the private physician is unable or unwilling to certify the death certificate, and deaths when there is suspicion of a public health threat.
Many people fail to realise that approximately half the deaths examined by a forensic pathologist are natural deaths occurring in the absence of injury.
The forensic pathologist is also an expert witness in the court of law, testifying in a variety of civil and criminal cases involving death or injury.
There are no specific traits necessary to work as a forensic pathologist. It helps to have decent communication skills, as it is necessary to discuss a wide variety of topics with many types of individuals and organisations. Indeed, there is a common misconception that the pathologist only deals with the deceased. An outgoing, energetic personality makes it easier to speak to large groups such as juries during expert witness testimony in a court of law, while sensitivity is needed to confront relatives.
So how realistic are the TV role models? “On TV, you’ll see a nice, modern autopsy room where high-tech tools are used, but the reality in Cyprus isn’t like this,” says Sophocleous. “I can’t really comment about other countries, such as the US, for example, as I have not seen what facilities there are like.”
Various institutions on the island help Sophocleous perform his duties, such as the Genetics Institute, which specialises in DNA issues, hospital tissue sampling departments and public chemistry departments. “These institutions all combine to form an essential network,” he said.
He added that in a small number of cases, “the cause of death cannot be established and this is not unusual.
“The hard part is actually explaining this to people and having to see how they will accept it.
“Psychologically, I try to be as close as possible to relatives of the deceased when it comes to human pain and to be sympathetic and give them all the help and information that they need.”
The presence of relatives is not allowed during post-mortem examinations. “It doesn’t seem right,” he said, adding he has so far been spared the difficulties which would be associated with performing an examination on somebody he has personally known. “I’m also a human being, who has feelings,” he said.
How does the daily contact with death affect him? Sophocleous says he tries to be ready for it whenever it arrives and to accept it at any time.
“Everybody is scared of death but it is something that is inevitable and will happen to us all eventually.”
MARIOS Matsakis, who was appointed as Cyprus’s first state pathologist in 1994, explained that it is a relatively new job in Cyprus, with people brought in from overseas until then.
“People don’t quite understand the ethical considerations and professional limitations of the job,” he said.
The pathologist, now an MEP, explained that there were two main difficulties with the job.
“The first is the human side of the job, for example having to perform a post-mortem on a child. This is even harder in a small society like Cyprus where you may know the victim or their relatives.
“The second is on the professional side. Again, it’s hard working in a small country where forensic pathology is not fully understood and where you may sometimes have to go against other professionals that you know.
“For example, you may know a doctor in a medical negligence case. It’s very easy to come into conflict with the medical community, police and Attorney-general’s office and I am a perfect example of this,” said the controversial MEP.
Matsakis, who is no longer involved in forensic cases since becoming a Member of the European Parliament in 2004, said the role of a forensic pathologist was highly unnatural.
“I didn’t enjoy it at all and didn’t like doing what I was doing and being in the post-mortem room.
“If I ever said that I liked it, then I’d feel as though I wasn’t normal. It really is dreadful and I only did it as I wanted to help.”
He said he had been involved in some of the worst cases seen in Cyprus. “There have been some dreadful murder cases involving young women and I can recall one particularly disturbing case in Larnaca, where the woman suffered at the hands of her animal-like murderer who tortured her and then only served eight years in prison and is now free to kill again.
“This is our system and I feel particularly disappointed in our society in general.”
