Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology

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Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, by

W. G. Aitchison Robertson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
Author: W. G. Aitchison Robertson
Release Date: August 10, 2006 [EBook #19019]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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AIDS
TO
FORENSIC MEDICINE AND TOXICOLOGY
BY
W.G. AITCHISON ROBERTSON
M.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.P.E.
LECTURER ON FORENSIC MEDICINE, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, EDINBURGH; LATE EXAMINER IN THE UNIVERSITIES OF EDINBURGH AND ST. ANDREWS; FOR THE TRIPLE BOARD; DIPLOMA IN PUBLIC HEALTH, ETC.
NINTH EDITION
TWENTIETH THOUSAND
LONDON
BAILLIèRE, TINDALL AND COX
8, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN
1922

PREFACE TO NINTH EDITION
I trust that, having thoroughly revised the "Aids to Forensic Medicine," it may prove as useful to students preparing for examination in the future as it has been in the past.
W.G. AITCHISON ROBERTSON.
SURGEONS' HALL, EDINBURGH, November, 1921.

PREFACE TO EIGHTH EDITION
This work of the late Dr. William Murrell having met with such a large measure of success, the publishers thought it would be well to bring out a new edition, and invited me to revise the last impression.
This I have done, and while retaining Dr. Murrell's text closely, I have made large additions, in order to bring the "Aids" up to present requirements. I have also rearranged the matter with the object of making the various sections more consecutive than they were previously.
W.G. AITCHISON ROBERTSON.
SURGEONS' HALL, EDINBURGH, June, 1914.

CONTENTS


PART I
FORENSIC MEDICINE
PAGE
I. Crimes 1 II. Medical Evidence 2 III. Personal Identity 10 IV. Examination of Persons found Dead 12 V. Modes of Sudden Death 13 VI. Signs of Death 16 VII. Death from An?sthetics, etc. 19 VIII. Presumption of Death; Survivorship 20 IX. Assaults, Murder, Manslaughter, etc. 21 X. Wounds and Mechanical Injuries 21 XI. Contused Wounds, etc. 22 XII. Incised Wounds 23 XIII. Gunshot Wounds 24 XIV. Wounds of Various Parts of the Body 26 XV. Detection of Blood-Stains, etc. 30 XVI. Death by Suffocation 34 XVII. Death by Hanging 35 XVIII. Death by Strangulation 35 XIX. Death by Drowning 36 XX. Death from Starvation 38 XXI. Death from Lightning and Electricity 38 XXII. Death from Cold or Heat 39 XXIII. Pregnancy 40 XXIV. Delivery 41 XXV. Foeticide or Criminal Abortion 42 XXVI. Infanticide 44 XXVII. Evidences of Live-Birth 46 XXVIII. Cause of Death in the Foetus 50 XXIX. Duration of Pregnancy 50 XXX. Viability of Children 51 XXXI. Legitimacy 52 XXXII. Superfoetation 53 XXXIII. Inheritance 54 XXXIV. Impotence and Sterility 54 XXXV. Rape 55 XXXVI. Unnatural Offences 59 XXXVII. Blackmailing 60 XXXVIII. Marriage and Divorce 60 XXXIX. Feigned Diseases 63 XL. Mental Unsoundness 67 XLI. Idiocy, Imbecility, Cretinism 68 XLII. Dementia 70 XLIII. Mania, Lucid Intervals, Undue Influence, Responsibility, etc. 71 XLIV. Examination of Persons of Unsound Mind 76 XLV. Inebriates Acts 78


PART II
TOXICOLOGY
I. Definition of a Poison 80 II. Scheduled Poisons 80 III. Classification of Poisons 83 IV. Evidence of Poisoning 85 V. Symptoms and Post-Mortem Appearances of Different Classes of Poisons 86 VI. Duty of Practitioner in Supposed Case of Poisoning 89 VII. Treatment of Poisoning 90 VIII. Detection of Poison 91 IX. The Mineral Acids 94 X. Sulphuric Acid 95 XI. Nitric Acid 97 XII. Hydrochloric Acid 98 XIII. Oxalic Acid 98 XIV. Carbolic Acid 100 XV. Potash, Soda, and Ammonia 101 XVI. Potassium Salts, etc. 103 XVII. Nitrate of Potassium, etc. 103 XVIII. Barium Salts 104 XIX. Iodine--Iodide of Potassium 104 XX. Phosphorus 105 XXI. Arsenic and its Preparations 107 XXII. Antimony and its Preparations 112 XXIII. Mercury and its Preparations 113 XXIV. Lead and its Preparations 116 XXV. Copper and its Preparations 117 XXVI. Zinc, Silver, Bismuth, and Chromium 118 XXVII. Gaseous Poisons 120 XXVIII. Vegetable Irritants 123 XXIX. Opium and Morphine 124 XXX. Belladonna, Hyoscyamus, and Stramonium 127 XXXI. Cocaine 128 XXXII. Camphor 129 XXXIII. Tetrachlorethane 129 XXXIV. Alcohol, Ether, and Chloroform 130 XXXV. Chloral Hydrate 134 XXXVI. Petroleum and Paraffin Oil 134 XXXVII. Antipyrine, Antefebrin, Phenacetin, and Aniline 135 XXXVIII. Sulphonal, Trional, Tetronal, Veronal, Paraldehyde 137 XXXIX. Conium and Calabar Bean 138 XL. Tobacco and Lobelia 139 XLI. Hydrocyanic Acid 140 XLII. Aconite 143 XLIII. Digitalis 144 XLIV. Nux Vomica, Strychnine, and Brucine 145 XLV. Cantharides 146 XLVI. Abortifacients 147 XLVII. Poisonous Fungi and Toxic Foods 148 XLVIII. Ptomaines or Cadaveric Alkaloids 150
Index 152

AIDS TO FORENSIC MEDICINE AND TOXICOLOGY



PART I
FORENSIC MEDICINE

I.--CRIMES
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, with (1) crimes and (2) civil injuries.
1. A crime is the voluntary act of a person of sound mind harmful to others and