Text-Book of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology

SECTION I. Forensic Medicine

FORENSIC MEDICINE CHAP. PAGE Introduction 1 I. Legal Criminal Procedure 2 II. Medical Evidence Generally, Identity 11 III. Modes of Dying, Sudden Death, Signs of Death 38 IV. Post-mortem Examinations and Exhumations, Instructions of the Crown Office in Scotland 56 V. Assaults, Homicide, and Wounds 68 VI. Blood Stains, Spectra, and Biological Tests 89 VII. Burns and Scalds, Contusions and Bruises 110 VIII. Suffocation, Hanging, Strangling, and Throttling 118 IX. Drowning 127 X. Death from Starvation, Cold and Heat, Lightning and Electricity 132 XI. Offences against Chastity 140 XII. Pregnancy and Delivery 150 XIII. Fœticide, or Criminal Abortion 159 XIV. Infanticide, Live Birth, Cause of Death to the Fœtus 165 XV. Inheritance, Legitimacy, Impotence and Sterility, Survivorship, Malpraxis and Neglect of Duty, Feigned Diseases, Exemption from Public Duties, Wills 184 XVI. Mental unsoundness, General Symptoms of Insanity, Mania, Melancholia, Dementia, Restraint of the Insane, Forms of Medical Certificates, Testamentary Capacity 192

SECTION II. Toxicology

TOXICOLOGY I. Definition of a Poison, Sale of Poisons, Classification of Poisons, Action of Poisons, General Evidence of Poisoning, General Treatment in Cases of Poisoning, General Methods of Examination for Poison 227 II. Division 1: Chemical--Corrosive Poisons 246 III. Division 2: Vital--Metalloid Irritants 267 IV. Metallic Irritants 274 V. Vegetable and Animal Irritants 317 VI. Food Poisoning (Bromatotoxismus) 328 VII. Vegetable Alkaloids 335 VIII. Narcotic Poisons 343 IX. Deliriant Poisons 349 X. Inebriant Poisons 354 XI. Sedative Poisons 364 XII. Cerebral Poisons 377 XIII. Neural Poisons 385 XIV. Excitomotory Poisons 388 XV. Irrespirable Gases 397 INDEX 405

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SECTION I. Forensic Medicine

FORENSIC MEDICINE

Plate showing Centre of Ossification in the Lower Epiphysis PAGE of Femur in full time Fœtus To face 64 FIG. 1. Finger Prints 24 2. Finger Prints 25 3. Photo-micrograph of transverse section of Normal Hair Follicle 27 4. Photo-micrograph of Wool Fibres 90 5. Photo-micrograph of Flax Fibres 91 6. Photo-micrograph of Silk Fibres 92 7. Photo-micrograph of Cotton Fibres 93 8. Measurement of Blood Corpuscles (human) 97 9. Measurement of Blood Corpuscles (sheep) 97 10. Photo-micrograph of Red Blood Corpuscles from Domestic Fowl 99 11. Photo-micrograph of Blood Corpuscles of Fish 99 12. Photo-micrograph of Blood Corpuscles from a Dried Stain of the Blood of a Cod-fish 100 13. Photo-micrograph of a Frog‘s Blood showing oval nucleated Red Corpuscles 101 14. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Hæmin 102 15. Blood Spectra 104 16. } 17. }Pulse Tracings before and after Execution opposite 121 18. } 19. Hymen of Child of Four Years--Annular Type 144 20. Virgin Hymen, with Central Slit 144 21. Photo-micrograph of Human Spermatozoa 147 22. Deflorated Hymen, after Parturition, in Adult Woman 149 23. Abortion at Fourth Week 159 24. Abortion between Sixth and Eighth Week 160 25. Abortion at Tenth Week 160 26. Photo-micrograph of Human Milk 177 27. Photo-micrograph of Starch Granules 179

SECTION II. Toxicology

TOXICOLOGY

28. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Oxalic Acid 258 29. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Oxalic Acid 259 30. Photo-micrograph of Sublimate of Arsenious Acid obtained by Reinsch‘s Process 284 31. Dowzard‘s Apparatus for Gutzeit‘s Test for Arsenic 285 32. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Tartarated Antimony 292 33. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Tartarated Antimony 293 34. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Corrosive Sublimate 298 35. Photo-micrograph of Globules of Mercury obtained by Reinsch‘s Process 303 36. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Hydrochloride of Morphine 339 37. Photo-micrograph of Meconic Acid crystallised from Aqueous Solution 340 38. Photo-micrograph of Meconic Acid crystallised from an Alcoholic Solution 340 39. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Cyanide of Silver obtained by the Vapour Test 372 40. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Strychnine Sulphate from an Aqueous Solution 389 41. Photo-micrograph of Crystal of Strychnine Sulphate from Aqueous Solution 389 42. Photo-micrograph of Strychnine Sulphate, Film Preparation from Chloroform Solution 391 43. Photo-micrograph of Chromate of Strychnine 391 44. Photo-micrograph of Sulphocyanate of Strychnine 392 45. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Brucine Sulphate 395 46. Photo-micrograph of Crystals of Brucine Sulphate 395

=FORENSIC MEDICINE AND= =TOXICOLOGY=

SECTION I. Forensic Medicine

FORENSIC MEDICINE

INTRODUCTION

Medical Jurisprudence, Forensic Medicine, or Legal Medicine are terms for that science which teaches the application of the knowledge of all branches of medical and surgical science and art to the solution of every question connected with the conservation of the species and the administration of Justice. We find traces of this science in the Jewish law; among the Egyptians, according to Plutarch; and even among the Romans as early as the times of Numa Pompilius. Among German writers the term State Medicine includes both Medical Jurisprudence and Medical Police, Public Health, or Sanitary Science.

The special knowledge requisite to the Medical Jurist differs in many ways from that requisite for the art of healing the sick. The majority of medical students and practitioners may consider a simple exercise of common sense in the application of their general professional knowledge to the elucidation of problems of medico-legal import all that is requisite, and that no special training is necessary for the purpose. They may hope that it may never fall to their lot to be called upon to act in the capacity of medical jurists. It may occur, however, to any medical practitioner at any time of his professional career that his services be requisitioned by law for the purpose of elucidating problems of such a nature as will demand from him thought and judgment quite apart from those he exercises in the ordinary course of his medical and surgical practice. From such a requisition he has no escape; he cannot shift his responsibility to another, and it behoves him, therefore, to acquire a knowledge of Forensic Medicine, in order to guide him, when so called upon, to give such evidence as will enable a judge and jury to arrive at a just conclusion. The relations of all medical practitioners to the State are twofold--first, as healers of disease, and secondly, both as guardians of the innocent against unfounded criminal charges and aids towards the detection and punishment of crime.

CHAPTER I. Legal Criminal Procedure

LEGAL CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ENGLAND AND IRELAND

=The Coroner‘s Court.=--The office of coroner is mentioned in a charter in 925. Coroners were formerly chosen for life by the freeholders of the district, but their election is now in the hands of the County Councils. Their duties were first clearly pointed out by the Act 4 Edw. I. c. 2, 1275 (De officio coronatoris).

At the present time the duties of the coroner are chiefly to hold inquiry into the cause of death when there is any reason to doubt that death resulted from natural causes.

When death results from natural causes, and under ordinary conditions, the medical attendant is bound, under a penalty of forty shillings, to certify as to the cause. The registrar of deaths accepts such a certificate when accompanied by oral testimony given by a person who was present at the time of death, and issues a certificate accordingly, authorising the interment of the deceased.

Should conditions obtain to prevent the medical attendant from forming an opinion as to the cause of death, or which would lead him to infer that death did not take place from natural causes, he should notify the matter to the coroner. Such would be necessary if death were directly or indirectly due to accident, or if death occurred within a reasonable time after an accident, although due to some other cause, or if an accident happened to deceased during the course of a chronic illness, the accident, however, not being in itself necessarily fatal.

It would be necessary also to notify the coroner if the death took place under circumstances which, to the medical attendant, appeared suspicious, such as might arise from culpable neglect or cruelty on the part of persons in charge of the deceased. The same would apply to cases in which the cause of death was unknown. A great responsibility rests on the medical practitioner, in that he is compelled under a penalty to certify as to the cause of death; while if he do so without due consideration, or carelessly, he renders himself liable to censure or legal proceedings.

It may happen that in certain cases--for example, where an accident befell the deceased during the course of a lingering illness, and which in itself had no causal relations to the death--the doctor may be prone to certify the death as from the illness alone, taking no note of the accident; and pressure may be brought to bear upon him by the relations of the deceased to so certify and save them the trouble and publicity of an inquest. It should be remembered, however, that although the certificate be accepted by the registrar, and interment take place, the coroner, if informed of the matter, may order the body to be exhumed for the purposes of inquest.

There are coroners who, on receipt of information of death from uncertain causes, may elect, on evidence obtained apart from the medical practitioner, to notify the registrar authorising the interment without holding an inquest. The law, however, states that, “except upon holding an inquest, no order, warrant, or other document for the burial of the body shall be given by the coroner” (50 and 51 Vict.).

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