Forensic medicine is medical expertise on behalf of police departments and the judicial sector. In the Netherlands, the majority of forensics medicine is embedded in Public Health Services (PHS). Within these organizations, forensic physicians are responsible for primary health care for police detainees, describing and assessing injuries inflicted by violence, examinations of victims of sexual offences, collection of specimen as evidence for toxicology and judicial investigations and post mortem examinations, when primary care physicians are not available or in cases of unclear or unnatural causes of death (e.g. first and second degree murder, accidents, suicide and euthanasia).

From November 2015 until November 2020, U.J.L. Reijnders was appointed professor at the University of Amsterdam on a special chair in forensic medicine. The focus of the research projects is on the development and appliance of tools in forensic death investigation, as for instance the post mortem toxicological urine screening in cause of death determination, several analysis like the characteristics and post mortem attitudes of non-reporting sexual violence and other assaulted individuals, the aftercare for violence victims, recognition of different types of injuries, ins and outs concerning medical help in detainees, and wound age determination. In the coming years these subjects will be continued. Reijnders has authored/co-authored > 50 peer reviewed scientific publications and wrote two books on forensic aspects of corpses and injuries and several book chapters on several forensic medical aspects.

Forensic radiology is the use of radiological imaging techniques in the field of forensic medicine and legal proceedings. In part it is focussed on post mortem imaging but, especially in children, there is also an important role for radiology in the living victim of physical abuse or trauma.

As of June 1st 2014 Rick R. van Rijn holds the chair of forensic radiology with an emphasis on paediatric forensic radiology. With this chair his research and education is focussed on two aspects:

1. Clinical paediatric radiology: here the aim is to create awareness in radiology, but also in other paediatric specialties, for the radiological findings that can be a sign of inflicted trauma. This research is performed in collaboration with other disciplines such as paediatrics and paediatric surgery.
2. Forensic paediatric radiology: The aim is to build evidence to support the interpretation of radiological findings in the legal process. Currently the focus lies on abusive head trauma and fractures in infants. This research is performed in collaboration with the department of forensic medicine of the Netherlands Forensic Institute.