Editor's Foreword

Forensic atlases are seldom published and mostly quickly out of print. The professional tangential issues have increased significantly in everyday life but not however the number of experts. 
Doctors, police officers and lawyers whose place of work may be far from forensic institutions are often left to their own devices. Above all, the Atlas should be a tool and at the same time a memory aid with pictures and practical tips. The novelty is that - unlike the classic textbook - the content will be regularly updated and expanded, so that over time a very extensive and also current reference is always available. Furthermore, as a smart phone with Internet access has become an equally indispensable companion as a wristwatch, the user is able to use the atlas at any time and in any place if necessary.
Most of the illustrations are drawn from working photos that served only for the documentation of forensic work and were not intended for publication. In this respect, we ask your indulgence if any pictures do not have the clear presentation which is usually common in scientific work – in the practice pictures are not just photo art. If an image has a high information value, we have put aside other criteria that would normally render it unfit for publication. As part of our updates we will correct any deficiency little by little.
Coroners draw from their professional experience in their work as criminalists. The more cases we see, the less excited we become, even when a case is a little more difficult. So we intentionally show as many pictures as possible of the same subject, even if they differ only slightly. It serves to sharpen the eye of the user for varying dimensions; on the other hand, what is constantly repeated will be more easily stored in the memory.
Do not hesitate to offer your helpful comments; we will gladly include them in the next update. The more specialists who contribute to the Atlas, the better it will become.

Bremen, September 2016