Historically, forensic medicine has been a medical discipline situated at the intersection of medicine and the legal system, with the forensic pathologist recognized as a specialist in cases of violence. Today, forensic medicine is better defined by the interface between medicine and society, which may be seen as a revival of social medicine. Forensic medicine encompasses three concentric circles of activity: thanatology, forensic medicine in its clinical and biological dimensions, and a third set of activities, whose contours—"medicine, standards, and society"—represent an opening toward other disciplinary fields. The main fields of forensic medicine are the management and epidemiology of situations of violence; the identification of causes of death; medicine for persons deprived of liberty; the study of addictive behaviors; access to care and vulnerabilities; knowledge of and adherence to standards in medical practice; and ethical reflection on medical practices. (R.A.)