A System of Legal Medicine (Volume 1) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: MEDICO-LEGAL INSPECTIONS AND POST-MOETEM EXAMINATIONS. A. T. BRISTOW, A.B., M.D. A Post-mortem examination as ordinarily undertaken is made for the purpose of determining the cause of death where this is the result of disease, to observe the resulting pathological changes, their nature, and extent, together with the organs implicated. The inquiry concerns the physician himself. The friends of the deceased are disposed to accept the results of the examination without question, and with the signing of the death certificate the function and responsibility of the examiner cease. In the case of a medico-legal inspection the responsibility of the examiner is much increased. On his report and testimony may depend the issue of a civfl damage suit, or, more important still, the arrest of a freeman, liis prolonged imprisonment, indictment, and trial. The liberty of the citizen and the vindication of the law alike demand that the examiner should proceed with the utmost circumspection, to the end that the guilty may not escape iur the innocent suffer. It is to be remembered that when prosecution follows as a result of the inspection the examiner must expect that his methods will be subjected to the minutest scrutiny, and bear the test of hostile criticism from the acutcst minds the defense can summou. Loose and inaccurate methods, hasty observations, deductions rashly drawn, may bring confusion on the medical witness and involve in ruin a righteous prosecution. On the other hand, it is to be observed that although the prosecuting officer may demand a victim, justice calls for the criminal. Not seldom it may be the duty of the medical witness to stand between the unfortunate and an ambitious or too zealous prosecutor, carried away by the ardor of battle, the hope of future pain or pre...