(1) Cadaveric appearance; ashy white colour. (2) Cessation of the circulation and respiration, no sound being heard by the stethoscope. Cessation of the circulation may be determin...
=Action of Poisons.=--They may act either locally or only after absorption into the system. 1. Local Action, as seen in (a) corrosive poisons; (b) irritant poisons, causing congest...
Whilst recognizing the fact that toxic agents cannot be accurately classified, the following grouping may for descriptive purposes be admitted with the view of saving needless repe...
It may be inferred that poison has been taken from consideration of the following factors: Symptoms and post-mortem appearances, experiments on animals, chemical analysis, and the...
There are three modes in which death may occur: (1) Syncope; (2) asphyxia; (3) coma. 1. =Syncope= is death beginning at the heart--in other words, failure of circulation. It may ar...
Death by drowning occurs when breathing is arrested by watery or semi-fluid substances--blood, urine, etc. The fluid acts mechanically by entering the air-cells of the lung and pre...
A wound may be defined as a 'breach of continuity in the structures of the body, whether external or internal, suddenly occasioned by mechanical violence.' The law does not define...
The modes of treatment may be ranged under three heads: (1) To eliminate the poison; (2) to antagonize its action; (3) to avert the tendency to death. 1. The first indication is me...
Forensic medicine is also called Medical Jurisprudence or Legal Medicine, and includes all questions which bring medical matters into relation with the law. It deals, therefore, wi...
Signs and Symptoms.--There are usually three stages: 1. Exaggerated respiratory activity; air hunger; anxiety; congested appearance of face; ringing in ears. 2. Loss of consciousne...
Notice the smell, colour, and general appearance, of the matter submitted for examination. The odour may show the presence of prussic acid, alcohol, opium, or phosphorus. The colou...
It is but seldom that medical evidence is required with regard to the identification of the living, though it may sometimes be so, as in the celebrated Tichborne case. The medical...
Infanticide, or the murder of a new-born child, is not treated as a specific crime, but is tried by the same rules as in cases of felonious homicide. The term is applied technicall...
Though the law does not define in definite terms what a poison really is, it lays stress on the malicious intention in giving a drug or other substance to an individual. It is a fe...
If called to a case supposed or suspected to be one of poisoning, the medical man has two duties to perform: To save the patient's life, and to place himself in a position to give...
When a medical man is called to a case of sudden death, he should carefully note anything likely to throw any light on the cause of death. He should notice the place where the body...
On being called, the medical witness enters the witness-box and takes the oath. This is very generally done by uplifting the right hand and repeating the oath (Scottish form), or b...
The signs of live birth prior to respiration are negative and positive. A negative opinion may be formed when evidence is found of the child having undergone intra-uterine macerati...
=Presumption of Death.=--If a person be unheard of for seven years, the court may, on application by the nearest relative, presume death to have taken place. If, however, it can be...
These are sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids. Symptoms of Poisoning by the Mineral Acids.--Acid taste in the mouth, with violent burning pain extending into the oesophagus a...
It is somewhat difficult to define an inebriate, but for the moment the following will suffice, and will ultimately, in all probability, be officially adopted: An inebriate is a pe...
Rape is the carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will. The resistance of the woman must be to the utmost of her power, but if she yield through fear or duress it is...
The sale of poisons is regulated by various Acts, but chiefly by the Pharmacy Act, 1868, and by the Poisons and Pharmacy Act, 1908. Only registered medical practitioners and legall...
=Assault.=--This is an attempt or offer to do violence to another person; it is not necessary that actual injury has been done, but evil intention must be proved. When a corporal h...
The most important salt of mercury, toxicologically, is corrosive sublimate. Other poisonous preparations are red precipitate, white precipitate, mercuric nitrate, the cyanide and...
Stains may require detection on clothing, on cutting instruments, on floors and furniture, etc. The following are the distinctive characters of blood-stains: (a) =Ocular Inspection...
This consists in giving to any woman, or causing to be taken by her, with intent to procure her miscarriage, any poison or other noxious thing, or using for the same purpose any in...
Alcohol, ether, and chloroform, induce general anæsthesia, often preceded by delirious excitement, and followed by nausea and vomiting. When they cause death, it is by inducing a s...
Every medical man, before presenting himself to give evidence in a case of suspected poisoning, should make himself thoroughly acquainted with recent researches on the subject. Pto...
The post-mortem appearances in death from starvation are as follows: There is marked general emaciation; the skin is dry, shrivelled, and covered with a brown, bad-smelling excreti...