Until recently, almost all of the medical input to criminal and civil prosecutions relating to allegations of torture was from forensic pathologists investigating mass graves. It is now recognised, however, that witness evidence from those who survive atrocities can be supported by medical experts in documenting torture both immediately and many years after the event. As is patently evident from news coverage, the number of asylum seekers in the West fleeing persecution abroad has increased steadily and there is a real need to provide those involved in examining these individuals with a comprehensive reference source which will underpin the Istanbul Protocol and provide the academic background for bringing prosecutions against alleged torturers before the newly mandated International Criminal Court.