ABSTRACT
There are numerous medico-legal reasons why it is important to be able to establish the identity of a living individual or of a dead body. The living may not be able to identify themselves for a variety of reasons: coma, amnesia, infancy or mental defect and possibly even severe language barriers may prevent people from giving information about themselves. Alternatively, an individual may simply chose to conceal his true identity by providing false information. Even if the identity of the individual is known, other personal details, for instance their exact age, may need to be confirmed for the purposes of immigration or inheritance.
