title: Best practice in forensic entomology--standards and guidelines.
abstract: Forensic entomology, the use of insects and other arthropods in forensic investigations, is becoming increasingly more important in such investigations. To ensure its optimal use by a diverse group of professionals including pathologists, entomologists and police officers, a common frame of guidelines and standards is essential. Therefore, the European Association for Forensic Entomology has developed a protocol document for best practice in forensic entomology, which includes an overview of equipment used for collection of entomological evidence and a detailed description of the methods applied. Together with the definitions of key terms and a short introduction to the most important methods for the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval, the present paper aims to encourage a high level of competency in the field of forensic entomology.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Frankfurt, Kennedyallee 104, 60596, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. amendt@em.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amendt
authors.forename: Carlo P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Campobasso
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gaudry
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.forename: Hélène N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: LeBlanc
authors.forename: Martin J R
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods; D019985:Benchmarking; D004282:Documentation; D004772:Entomology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005060:Europe; D044707:Forensic Sciences / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D013048:Specimen Handling