Chapter V: Part III: continued (3)

The _pancreas_ is to be seen by tearing through the great omentum, between the large curve of the stomach, and the arch of the colon. The anatomist will proceed to the examination of the remaining structures in the abdomen with a facility that renders any farther directions unnecessary; we have only to repeat that in cases of forensic interest, the inspection cannot be too minute. The appearance of the kidneys, although not generally an object of dissection, ought to be noticed, as it is frequently connected with the exhibition of poisons; like the other solid viscera too, the kidneys may be ruptured by external violence, and several instances are recorded of sudden death having been thus occasioned.

_Examination of the uterus and its appendages._—In the case of a female the organs of generation should always be inspected; very important conclusions may be deduced from the discovery of an unimpregnated uterus. In the case of _Miss Burns_, to which we have so frequently alluded in the progress of our work, this part of the dissection was so incomplete as to occasion considerable dissatisfaction. The uterus and its appendages having been carefully removed from the body, we should proceed to expose the cavity of the former by an incision, from near the _os tincæ_ to the _fundus_, and by a transverse section at the _fundus_, between the inner ends of the _fallopian tubes_. This organ is liable, amongst other diseases, to inflammation, ulceration, schirrus, tubercles, polypus, dropsy, and organised masses, or _moles_; upon which we shall offer such observations as appear to connect the dissection with questions of forensic interest. In an adult and unimpregnated female its length is about 2½ inches; its thickness, 1 inch; its breadth at the fundus 1½ or 2 inches, and at the cervix about 10 lines. Although it returns after parturition to its original size, it never becomes again so small as it was in the virgin. In women who have borne many children, the neck of the uterus is generally thicker, and more rounded; its orifice, or _os tincæ_, is always very gaping, and the lips more or less irregular, presenting generally one or more grooves, or chops, separated by what appear like tubercles. The _os uteri_ may, however, be as regular in its figure in women who have borne children, as in others; and on the contrary, it may present in the latter, those irregularities which are more usual in the former; hence the inferences drawn from the state of this part, in cases where infanticide is suspected, or where parturition is supposed to have been concealed, cannot be received as being unexceptionable, although they will add to the weight of evidence, and assist us, in conjunction with other evidence, in attaining that high degree of probability, which practically amounts to certainty. The cavity of the _cervix uteri_ undergoes also a change in form and appearance, which it is necessary to notice, although we are not disposed to assign very great importance to its indications. In women who have never borne children, the figure of the cavity may be said to resemble that of two cones joined bases to base, more capacious in the middle than at the two extremities; but, from the time of conception, that extremity of the canal, which opens into the vagina, is dilated; and, after parturition has once occurred, it is always found much wider than before, when it represents a cone with the basis towards the _vagina_, and the apex towards the _fundus uteri_. By a schirrous enlargement, the uterus may arrive at a very considerable size. _Dr. Baillie_ has seen it as large as the gravid uterus at the sixth month; the cavity may also enlarge and contain a _polypus_, which is a very common disease at middle or advanced age; it has been defined “a diseased mass, which adheres to some part of the cavity of the uterus, by a kind of neck, or narrower portion.” An attempt was made on the trial of _Charles Angus_ to explain the appearance presented by the uterus of _Miss Burns_, upon the supposition of an _hydatid_ having been recently ejected from it, (_see vol._ i, _p._ 254.) Water has been known to have accumulated in very considerable quantities in the cavity of the uterus,[38] in some cases to the amount of fifty, sixty, or even a hundred pints.

If a woman die from hemorrhage, or from any other cause in child-birth, the appearances that will present themselves on dissection have been thus clearly described by _Professor Burns_.[39] “The uterus is found like a large flattened pouch, from nine to twelve inches long; the cavity contains coagula, or a bloody fluid, and its surface is covered by the remains of the decidua. Often the marks of the attachment of the _placenta_ are very visible. This part is of a dark colour; so that the uterus is thought to be gangrenous by those who are not aware of the circumstance. The surface being cleaned, the sound substance of the womb is seen; the vessels are extremely large and numerous; the fallopian tubes, round ligaments, and surface of the ovaria, are so vascular that they have a purple colour. The spot where the ovum escaped is more vascular than the rest of the ovarian surface. This state of the uterine appendages continues until the womb has returned to its unimpregnated state. A week after delivery, the womb is as large as two fists; at the end of a fortnight, it will be found about six inches long, generally lying obliquely to one side; the inner surface is still bloody, and covered partially with a pulpy substance like decidua. The muscularity is distinct, and the orbicular direction of the fibres round the orifice of the tubes very evident. The substance is whitish. The intestines have not yet assumed the same order as usual; but the distended cæcum is often more prominent than the rest. It is a month, at least, before the uterus returns to its natural state, but the os uteri rarely, if ever, closes to the same degree as in the virgin state.”

The ovaria are susceptible of very considerable enlargement by diseases, so as to occasion the appearance of pregnancy, the most common of which is dropsy; in some cases the whole substance is converted into a capsule containing fluid, so large as to occupy nearly the whole cavity of the abdomen. There is one phenomenon, connected with the morbid anatomy of these organs, that deserves particular notice in this work, as being a subject in some degree connected with judicial enquiry—the change of these parts into a fatty substance containing hair and teeth! these appearances have been often regarded as imperfect ova, in consequence of impregnation, but it should be generally known that they take place without any intercourse between the sexes, and appear to depend upon causes very remote from those to which we allude.[40] In our examination of the ovaria, it is essential to remark whether any _corpus luteum_ be present; and upon this subject and the value of its indications, it will be necessary to offer a few remarks. The _corpora lutea_ are oblong glandular bodies, found in the ovaria of pregnant animals; they have been regarded as the _calyces_, from which the impregnated ovum has dropped;[41] they are largest and most conspicuous in the early state of pregnancy, and remain for some time after delivery, when they gradually fade and wither until they disappear. The phenomenon has been eagerly seized by the juridical physician as furnishing an indication of pregnancy; and, to a certain degree, the test may be admitted; but cases have occurred in which a _corpus luteum_ has been found, where impregnation could not have occurred;[42] it is probable that upon certain occasions extreme salacity may disengage an ovum, and thus produce the _corpus luteum_, although the former without sexual intercourse can never be developed in the uterus; but this is an exception to the general law of Nature, and the _corpus luteum_ may still be regarded as a presumptive proof of pregnancy. _Mr. Stanley_, in a very excellent memoir, published in the _Medical Transactions of the College_, _vol._ vi, observes that “the _corpora lutea_ in the ovaries of virgins may, in general, be distinguished from those which are the consequence of impregnation, by their smaller size.”

After all that has been said, our opinion in a case of supposed impregnation must, in the earlier stages, be formed from a review of all the circumstances appertaining to the condition of the uterus, ovaria, and fallopian tubes; and should these present such appearances as they usually assume in pregnancy, and the condition of the mammæ should at the same time agree with them, the proof is strongly presumptive; although it must fall short of the demonstration which the actual inspection of the _ovum in utero_ can alone afford.

The external parts of generation ought also to constitute an object of inspection. We have already considered the degree of evidence which they are capable of affording upon the subject of virginity, _vol._ i, _p._ 203, 429. In examining the vagina, it will be necessary to observe whether any shining or gritty particles are discoverable, (_see vol._ ii, _p._ 222.) It is also possible that some hard body may have been introduced into the genital organs, for a felonious purpose; a trial for a crime of this nature took place at Durham in the year 1781, when _Magaret Tinckler_ was indicted for the murder of _Janet Parkinson_, by having inserted wooden skewers into the womb, for the purpose of producing abortion; it appeared on dissection that there were two holes, in a gangrenous condition, which these extraneous bodies had occasioned, and to which the deceased had fallen a victim. _East’s P. C. tit. Murder._ Had these skewers been introduced after death, the appearances would have immediately denoted the fact, and could not be mistaken for the effects of inflammation and gangrene.

Having concluded our dissection, it will be right to preserve those parts, from whose condition or appearance any legitimate deduction can be made. In cases of poisoning, the stomach and intestines should be kept, for we may require them in our subsequent experiments. In the occurrence of eschars, perforations, and gangrenous, or inflamed patches, the anatomist should remove such appearances together with a portion of the surrounding sound parts, and he should carefully preserve them in alcohol, or in salt and water; and in cases where the state of the uterine system is involved in the inquiry, the uterus and its appendages, should be removed. In the case of _Miss Burns_, the witnesses must have experienced a considerable degree of satisfaction arising from a precaution of this kind, for they were thus enabled to obtain a confirmation of their opinion from the most eminent midwives in London.

After this service has been duly performed, the body must of course be committed to the grave; but should it not have been satisfactorily identified, the head ought to be preserved in spirits, in as natural a state as possible, that it may be recognised by the friends of the deceased. A curious instance stands on record, where this precaution led to the detection of the murderers. _Catherine Hayes_, and two accomplices, _Billings_ and _Wood_, murdered the husband of the former, cut off his head, and threw it into a dock near the Horseferry, Westminster. The head was in a few days found, and exposed on a pole in St. Margaret’s Church-yard, and afterwards preserved in spirits, by which means the face of the deceased was identified, and the perpetrators of the crime discovered, for which they were executed at Tyburn in the year 1726.

EXAMINATION OF THE SKELETON.

It will appear in the course of the present inquiry, that the anatomist may be called upon to examine a part, or the whole skeleton of a person supposed to have been murdered; and his evidence upon such occasions will be of the greatest importance. Convinced of this fact, we are induced to offer the following observations.

The stature of the human skeleton varies very considerably in different individuals; in the Museum of the College of Surgeons there is a male skeleton, the height of which is eight feet two inches; while we are informed by _Mr. Wilson_,[43] that he has seen a perfectly well formed skeleton of an adult person which measured only thirty-five inches; and a dwarf was lately exhibited in London of a still less stature; but in this latter case, the head was disproportionably large. There may have been some individuals a few inches taller, and others a few inches shorter than these, but we have no authentic records of the human stature exceeding nine, or at most, ten feet. The size and dimensions of the human figure, notwithstanding the fables of antiquity,[44] appear to have been much the same in all ages of the world. The Egyptian mummies of three thousand years standing, exhibit no difference in stature from the men of our own days; and we read that the Emperor Augustus was considered by the Romans as a person of middle stature, and his height is recorded as that of five feet, nine inches, of our measure.

In our general view of the human skeleton, two important problems present themselves for solution—the _Age_, and _Sex_, of the individual to whom it belonged. The skeleton of the fœtus, with which we shall commence our observations, is capable of furnishing more satisfactory data upon the subject of age than any examination of its softer textures, which are necessarily less evident and regular in their progress of developement. _M. Beclard_ has deduced from his examination of above fifty fœtuses, the following calculations, which it may be important to record. After two months have elapsed from the period of conception, the skeleton is about 4 inches and 3 lines in length, that of the spine being 2 inches. At three months, the former is 6 inches, and the proportion of the spine as 2⅔ to 6. At four months and a half, it is 9 inches, and the spine 4. At six months it is 12 inches, the spine being 5. At seven months and a half, it is 15 inches, the spine 6⅓. At nine months, or at the period of birth, it is ordinarily from 16 to 20 inches in length; or, at a medium, 18 inches, and the spine is in the proportion of 7¾ to 18.

Ossification does not take place with equal rapidity in every bone; the ribs and clavicles are completely converted into bone long before birth, while the bones of the _carpus_, _tarsus_, and more particularly the _patella_, are not completed until some years afterwards; certain parts of bones are not formed until after birth, as the _mastoid processes_, and the projections of the _frontal sinus_; nor are the _epiphyses_ consolidated with the body of the bones, so as to constitute _apophyses_, until many years. With regard to the general developement of the skeleton after birth, it may be observed, that the proportion of cartilage is in an inverse ratio to the age; reckoning from the twentieth year backwards, the younger the subject the larger is its head, compared with the trunk and limbs; the smaller the bones of the face, but the larger the fontanelles; the flatter is the lower part of the face; the larger the chest, in relation to the pelvis; the shorter the limbs; the larger the clavicles; the smoother and flatter the broad bones, but the rounder those that are cylindrical. (_See Albert Durer on the proportions of the bones_, _Lib._ 1.) The chemical composition of the bones, in relation to their _phosphate of lime_, and _gelatine_, varies also very materially at different ages. It may be stated that the quantity of the former substance deposited in the texture of bones, is in the direct ratio of the age; the bones of the fœtus are at first entirely gelatinous; at the time of birth, and during the first years of life the organic part superabounds; in youth the quantity of each constituent is nearly equal; in adults the calcareous earth forms almost two-thirds of their substance; and finally, by gradual accumulation in old age, its excess obliterates the organized parts; so that the skeleton of the aged person may be distinctly recognised; besides which, the sutures of the skull are generally lost, and the absorption of the alveolar processes again imparts to the face the physiognomy of the infant.

The male and female skeleton may be said to differ, not only in the whole combination, or in the general impression, from a comparative survey, but also in the form and properties of the individual parts. The bones of the female are generally smaller, more delicate, and the muscular impressions, and asperities are less distinctly marked on them. The articulations are smaller, and the shaft or body of each cylindrical bone is more slender in comparison with the articular ends; the frontal sinuses are smaller, and the superciliary arches less prominent; all the bones of the face are more slender; the figure of the alveolar circle is more elliptical in both jaws; whereas in the male it is more circular. The differences, however, are in many cases very equivocal, since they may occur in the male as well as in the female skeleton; in the former, where the individual has had a feeble constitution, and never used active exercise; while in the latter, hard labour will frequently confer upon her bony structure the masculine contour which we have described as generally belonging to the male skeleton. The only decisive marks, therefore, by which a female skeleton can at once be distinguished, are to be found in the structure of the pelvis, and arise from the obvious cause of the female possessing a proper frame to become a mother. The pelvis of a female, at and below the _linea innominata_, formed by the lower part of the inside of the _ileum_, and ridge of the _pubes_, is much more capacious, from side to side, than in the male. The entrance or brim of the cavity is also more oval, the greatest diameter being from side to side. In the male it is more triangular, and the greatest diameter at the brim is from the fore to the back part; there is not much difference in the breadth of a male and female pelvis, belonging to individuals of nearly the same height, if measured from the anterior part of the spine of the _ileum_ to the corresponding part of the opposite side; the difference in breadth is chiefly confined to the basin-like part of the cavity. The _symphysis pubis_ is broader in the female, and the angle underneath it is much more obtuse, the space between the descending rami of the pubes is consequently larger. The _sacrum_ is broader, less curved, and turned more backwards; this also adds to the capacity of the cavity. The _os coccygis_ is more moveable, and much less bent forwards so that it does not project so much into the pelvis. The _tuberosities_ of the _ischia_ are farther distant from each other, and from the _os coccygis_; and as these three points are farther asunder, the notches between them are consequently wider, and there is of course a much greater space between the _os coccygis_ and _pubes_; and lastly the whole _pelvis_ is less massy, but more capacious and shallow in the female structure.[45] There are, moreover, some striking peculiarities to be discovered in the structure of the thorax, which if not equally satisfactory with that derived from a comparison of the _pelvis_, deserve serious attention. The whole thorax is shorter in the female, larger above as far as the fourth rib, narrower below; more moveable, less conical; more convex in front; more distant from the _pelvis_, the interval between the last rib, and the _os innominatum_ being greater; less prominent anteriorly, so that when the trunk is supine, the _symphysis pubis_ is the highest point in the female, whereas in the male subject, the thorax is the most elevated; the sternum is also shorter in the female, ending at the plane of the fourth rib, while it reaches to the plane of the fifth in the male; the clavicles are likewise less strongly curved, so that the _scapulæ_ are thrown backwards; the female _scapulæ_ are, moreover, smaller, slenderer, flatter, and have acuter angles than those of the male.

We have been thus minute in our endeavour to establish rules for discriminating between the male and female skeleton, because it has been a question of judicial inquiry. The supposed difficulty of ascertaining the sex of a skeleton constituted a principal feature in the celebrated defence of _Eugene Aram_ for the murder of _Daniel Clarke_, and which, on account of its extreme ingenuity, has been introduced at length in our _Appendix_, p. 311.

In examining detached and isolated portions of the skeleton, we must take care not to mistake natural fissures and _foramina_ for the effects of violence; we have already observed that the _sagittal suture_ has been pronounced to be a fracture. But the most extraordinary illustration of such an error that can be adduced, is that presented to us in the history of a case that occurred at Exeter, and which the author of this work is enabled to present in an authentic form through the kind assistance of his friend, _Wm. Tucker, Esq. of Coryton, Devonshire_, a gentleman, who has been too long known, and too universally respected, as an active and upright magistrate, to render any panegyric necessary on the present occasion.

THE CASE OF THOMAS BOWERMAN.

DEVONSHIRE.——_At the Devon Assizes in March, 1800, a Bill was preferred
before the Grand Jury against_ Thomas Bowerman, _for the Murder of_
Mary Gollop, _a Bastard Child of_ Sarah _his Wife, by another man,
previous to her marriage, at the parish of Uffculme, in the said
County_.

_Mary Gollop_ lived with her mother, the wife of _Thomas Bowerman_, in _Bowerman’s_ house, at Uffculme, and had been often noticed on account of the ill treatment she was known to experience from _Thomas Bowerman_. About Michaelmas, 1797, being then about fourteen years of age, she was reported to have died suddenly in her father’s house, and she was accordingly buried on the first day of October, 1797, in the church-yard of Uffculme.

In January, 1800, _Thomas Bowerman_ was committed to the Devon Bridewell, at the suit of the overseers of the poor of Uffculme, on a conviction for having ran away and left his children chargeable to the parish of Uffculme. His wife was at that time dead, and _Elizabeth_, one of his children, about twelve years old, had been removed to the parish workhouse, and was there maintained at the expense of the parish. _Elizabeth Stark_, the mistress of the workhouse, in a conversation with _Elizabeth Bowerman_, mentioned to her, that on her father’s return from Bridewell, after the expiration of his sentence, she would be sent to her father’s house to be by him maintained and clothed. _Elizabeth Bowerman_ burst into tears, saying she could never again live with her father if he did return, as she was afraid he would murder her as he did her sister. She then stated that her father killed her sister, _Mary Gollop_, by pushing an awl into her head. She saw him do it, and he made her mother and herself wipe up the blood, and said he would serve her the same if ever she told of it.

_Mrs. Stark_ remonstrated with _Elizabeth Bowerman_ on the incredibility of her story; but in spite of all admonition, she persisted in asserting the truth of her statements, repeated without variance the particulars of the case, and pointed out the part near the ear where the perforation had been made. On the prevalence of this report, in the month of February, 1800, it was judged expedient by the parishioners to consult the Coroner, who ordered the disinterment of the body of _Mary Gollop_, and held an inquest, by whom the skull was inspected, on which was found a small hole of the size of an awl on the side of the head near the ear, in the place that _Elizabeth Bowerman_ had pointed out.

The Jury thereupon returned against _Thomas Bowerman_ a verdict of Wilful Murder.

The circumstances of this case excited the attention of the late _Mr. Sheldon_, then living in Exeter. He obtained access to the skull, and on viewing it declared his opinion that the hole in the skull, supposed to have been made by an awl, was a natural perforation, and had not been effected by an awl or any other instrument; and as proofs of his position, he pointed out a small bed or channel leading from the hole, which he said was made by the passage of a vein, and a sort of enamel round the hole, which could not have been there if made by force or art. In further illustration of this truth, he produced a dozen or more human skulls having on them similar perforations variously situated, and each hole having a small channel, and the rim or edge of the hole smooth and polished.

_Mr. Sheldon_ attended the Grand Jury at the said assizes on the investigation of this charge: before whom it is presumed he gave the same testimony. The Grand Jury returned “No Bill” against _Thomas Bowerman_ for the murder of _Mary Gollop_.

Another question of forensic interest has arisen upon this subject that requires some notice. Whether there are not bones in the structures of inferior animals, that so nearly approach those of the human species in figure and appearance as to admit the possibility of their being mistaken for them, by the superficial anatomist? It must be admitted that there does exist a similitude in the skeletons of different animals, of which the common observer cannot derive the least notion from the shape of the parts they sustain, or from the general aspect of their external form. _Bats_, for instance, appear to have wings, but an attentive examination demonstrates that they are real hands, the fingers of which are merely somewhat lengthened; still, however, it is the bones of quadrupeds that can alone be mistaken for those of man, and of these the cylindrical ones are the most likely to mislead us; for example, the _Humerus_ varies little in its form, except perhaps in the proportional length of the bone, and the elevation of its spines: the _Ruminantia_, in general, have the _great tuberosity_ very high, and the _linea aspera_ very prominent. To _Cuvier_ we are much indebted for the marks of discrimination by which we may determine to what genus of animal the isolated parts of a skeleton belong; and his researches have changed the opinion regarding the character of many organic remains. Most of the labourers in the Gypsum quarries about Paris are firmly persuaded that the bones which they contain are, in a great part, human remains; but, after having seen and carefully examined many thousands of them, _Cuvier_ unequivocally declares that not a single fragment has ever belonged to our species. Another similar discovery has been made by this illustrious anatomist, in the history of the extraneous fossil bones from the island of Cerigo, and deposited by _Spallanzani_ at Pavia as human remains, but of which he affirms there is not one that ever formed a part of the human skeleton; the same _tact_, if we may so express this peculiar merit of _Cuvier_, enabled him to decypher the “_Homo Diluvii Testis_” of _Scheutzer_, and to restore it to its true genus, the _Proteus_.

We shall close our remarks upon the fallacies by which the bones of quadrupeds have been mistaken for those of man, by the interesting account of the remains which were found by _Belzoni_ in a sarcophagus in the second pyramid of Egypt, and for a detailed relation of which we are indebted to _Captain Fitzclarence_, in his overland route from India. These bones were believed to be no other than the remains of _King Cephrenes_, who, according to _Herodotus_, is supposed to have built the pyramid, and to have been buried in its cavern; unfortunately, however, for the antiquarian’s conjecture, _Mr. Clift_, of the College of Surgeons, has satisfactorily proved that the bones in question are not human, but belong to an animal of the genus _Bos_.

ABORTION AND INFANTICIDE.

Although a child _in ventre sa mere_ has for certain purposes civil rights from the earliest period of conception, yet it was long undetermined in what rank of crime the killing of a fœtus should be placed. “It was anciently holden, says _Hawkins_, (_1 P. C._ 121) that the causing an abortion, by giving a potion to, or striking a woman big with child, was murder.” But at this day it is said to be a great misprision only, and not murder, unless the child be born alive, and die thereof, in which case it seems clearly to be murder, notwithstanding some opinions to the contrary.[46] And in this respect the common law[47] seems to be agreeable to the _Mosaical_,[48] which as to this purpose is thus expressed. “If men strive and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow, he shall surely be punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him, and he shall pay as the judges determine; and if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life.”

“It seems also agreed, that where one counsels a woman to kill her child when it shall be born, who afterwards does kill it in pursuance of such advice, he is an accessary to the murder.” _1 Hawk. P. C._ 121, and authorities there cited.

By the old law[49] there was this difference between ordinary murder, and the murder of _bastard_ children, that in the latter case the _onus probandi_ was in some measure thrown upon the supposed criminal, a practice totally at variance with our general principles of justice; and though many fictions and judicial evasions were resorted to for the purpose of softening the extreme rigor of this statute,[50] as by supposing that very slight circumstances, as knocking for help when in labour, providing linen, &c. took away the concealment,[51] yet the law remained in nominal force till the passing of the stat. 43 _Geo._ 3, _c._ 58, by which it is enacted that trials of women for the murder of bastard children should proceed on the same rules of evidence as trials for murder.[52] This part of our subject, therefore, might have been considered under the general head of murder; but though the legal distinctions which marked the crime of infanticide are thus removed, there are yet so many peculiarities in the physiological mode of collecting the evidence of its commission, that we have reserved it for separate consideration, in conjunction with the offence of procuring abortion to which it bears a close affinity.

The case of the _King_ v. _Phillips_, 3 _Campb. R._ _p._ 73, appears to have been the first that was tried under the new law.

This was an indictment on the 2d sect. of _Lord Ellenborough’s_ act, 43 _Geo._ 3, _c._ 58, for administering _savin_ to a woman _not_ quick with child, for the purpose of procuring abortion.[53]

The first count of the indictment charged that the prisoner on the 10th day of January 1811, and on divers other days and times between that day and the 20th of March in the year aforesaid, at the parish of St. Mary’s in the county of Monmouth, wilfully, maliciously, unlawfully and feloniously did administer to and cause to be administered to and taken by one _Hannah Mary Goldsmith_, single woman, divers large quantities, that is to say, 6 ounces of the _decoction_ of a certain shrub called _savin_, then and there being a noxious and destructive thing, the said _H. M. G._ on the said 10th day of January in the year aforesaid, and continually from thence until the said 20th day of March in the year aforesaid, at &c. aforesaid, being with child, but not quick with child, to wit, at the respective times of administering such divers large quantities of the _decoction_ of the said shrub called _savin_ as aforesaid, with intent thereby to cause and procure the miscarriage of the said _H. M. G._, against the form of the statute, &c.

It appeared that the prisoner prepared the medicine which he administered to Miss _Goldsmith_ by pouring boiling water on the leaves of a shrub: and the medical men examined, stated that such a preparation is called _an infusion_ not a _decoction_,—which is made by boiling the substance in the water.

The prisoner’s counsel insisted that he was entitled to an acquittal on the ground that the medicine was misdescribed.

_Lawrence, J._ This objection will not hold. The infusion and decoction are _ejusdem generis_, and the variance is immaterial. The question is, whether the prisoner administered any matter or thing to this woman with intent to procure abortion.

Witnesses were called for the prisoner to prove that the shrub he used was not _savin_.

The counsel for the prosecution, insisted, that even in that case the prisoner might be found guilty upon the last count of the indictment, which charged that he administered a large quantity “of a certain mixture to the jurors unknown, _then and there being a noxious and destructive thing_.”

The prisoner’s counsel objected that unless the shrub was _savin_, there was no evidence that the mixture was “noxious and destructive.”

_Lawrence, J._ In an indictment on this clause of the statute, it was improper to introduce these words; and although they are introduced, there is no necessity to prove them. It is immaterial whether the shrub was _savin_ or not, or whether or not it was capable of procuring abortion,[54] or even whether the woman was actually with child. If the prisoner believed at the time that it would procure abortion, and administered it with that intent, the case is within the statute, and he is guilty of the offence laid to his charge.

The prisoner urged that he had given the young woman an innocent draught for the purpose of amusing her, as she had threatened to destroy herself, unless enabled to conceal her shame; and the Jury returned a verdict of _not guilty_.

The prisoner had been previously tried on the _first_ section of the statute[55] for the capital charge, in administering savin to Miss _Goldsmith_ to procure abortion, she being then quick with child.[56] In point of fact, she was in the fourth month of her pregnancy. She swore, however, that she had not felt the child move within her before taking the medicine, and that she was not then quick with child. The medical men in their examinations, differed as to the time when the fœtus may be stated to be quick, and to have a distinct existence; but they all agreed that in common understanding, a woman is not considered to be quick with child till she has herself felt the child alive and quick within her, which happens with different women in different stages of pregnancy, although most usually about the sixteenth or eighteenth week after conception.

_Lawrence, J._ said, this was the interpretation that must be put upon the words _quick with child_ in the statute; and as the woman in this case had not felt the child alive within her before taking the medicine,—he directed an acquittal.

It cannot be necessary here to repeat that the popular idea of quick or not quick with child is founded in error;[57] yet as Acts of Parliament are not often drawn, and seldom even reviewed previous to their passing, by those whose profession, science, trade, or business, would best enable them to convey their meaning with distinctness; and as penal statutes must be construed strictly, and according to the ordinary and obvious meaning of the words, we must be content to recognise a distinction in law which does not exist in nature. There is, however, another peculiarity in the two sections which are founded on this distinction of _quick_ or _not quick_, which calls for immediate attention; in the first of these, that which applies to women quick with child, and in which the offence is made a capital felony, there is no mention of _using any instrument or other means whatever_, but the crime is confined to _administering_ any deadly poison, or other noxious and destructive substance or thing; while in the clause against the minor offence the use of _instruments or other means whatsoever_ is expressly included. Now we shall have occasion hereafter to show that medicines internally administered can seldom produce abortion, but that the effect can be infallibly secured by instruments; the most probable mode therefore of committing the crime appears to be protected by the most penal clause.

A case[58] on this point is inserted in the _Edinburgh Medical Journal_ for April, 1810; we entirely concur in the sentiment of the editors; “we cannot,” they say, “avoid remarking the apparent inconsistency of the law of England, in having no statute to punish its actual perpetration by the only certain means of effecting it, while it punishes by death, without benefit of clergy, the attempting it by means which are very seldom effectual. Thus _Pizzy_ was tried for attempting to cause _Ann Cheney_ to abort, by giving her medicines, which had no effect; and his having actually perpetrated the crime by mechanical violence, was only brought forward as proving the intention with which the medicines were given.”[59] The act therefore requires amendment, framed however with such care, that the necessary practice of procuring premature labour by qualified practitioners may be defended, while the immoral and criminal use of instrumental abortion may be adequately punished.

PHYSIOLOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

ABORTION.

Abortion[60] may be procured by the administration of powerful medicines, or by the application of mechanical violence, such as blows, or pressure on the abdomen; or by the introduction of sharp instruments into the uterus, so as to rupture the membranes. We shall offer a few remarks upon each of these several modes of accomplishing the criminal object in question. From a very early period attempts have been made to devise means of procuring abortion by the administration of certain drugs, which were considered as capable of acting specifically upon the womb, and of occasioning the exclusion of its contents. It would be idle to enumerate the various substances which have, at different times, been employed for such a purpose, not a few of which were derived from the fertile sources of credulity and superstition; and yet we are bound to admit, that upon this occasion at least, credulity has proved a blessing to mankind, by suggesting the substitution of a harmless amulet, or an inefficacious drug, for an application of extreme violence and danger, and, perhaps of death. The physicians of the present age disclaim the existence of any specific class of _abortives_, but we are ready to admit that the administration of violent medicines, by involving the uterus in the general shock thus given to the system, will occasion abortion, provided there exist at the same time, a certain predisposition on the part of the female; should this latter condition, however, be wanting, the _poculum abortionis_ may, by the violence of its operation, destroy the life of the unhappy mother, or very materially injure her, without accomplishing the object for which it was administered. In the case of _Mrs. Robert Turner_, one of the persons poisoned by _Elizabeth Fenning_, notwithstanding the long and violent sufferings she had experienced during her pregnancy, brought forth a living child at the natural period. On the other hand, a grocer’s wife in Edinburgh, having swallowed by mistake a handful of nitre, suffered abortion in less than half an hour; and in the case of _Mrs. Atwood_, of Mitcham, who with the rest of her family was poisoned by mushrooms, as already related, (_vol._ ii, _p._ 431) although rescued from death, miscarried in consequence of the violence which her general system had sustained.

The medicines more particularly employed for procuring abortion are _savine_,[61] and other irritating drugs, especially those which tend to excite a considerable degree of vascular action; such medicines, likewise, as exert a violent action on the stomach, or bowels, will be likely to produce miscarriage, and are often taken for such purpose in quantities sufficient to produce fatal results. _Mr. Burns_ observes that it is an old remark that those purgatives which occasion much tenesmus, will be more likely to excite the expulsion of the ovum. The strong cathartics, however, which are sometimes taken to promote such an effect, not only act by exciting tenesmus, but likewise by inflaming the stomach and bowels, and thus affect the uterus in two ways. It cannot be too generally known, adds the last mentioned author, that when these medicines do produce abortion the mother will seldom survive their effect. It is a mistaken notion that abortion can be more readily excited by drastic purges, immediately after the woman discovers herself pregnant; on the contrary, the action of the uterus is then more independent of that of the other organs, and is therefore not so easily injured by changes in their condition. Upon the same principle that violent cathartics or emetics operate upon the pregnant uterus, any other sudden shock upon the body will occasion a similar effect on that organ; the extraction of a tooth, for example, has been known to produce abortion. A thunder-storm, or violent cannonade, has been supposed to occasion the same result by the concussion of the air; but _Mr. Burns_ considers it more probable that such an effect is owing to mental trepidation. The influence of the passions upon these occasions, such as fear and joy, especially if suddenly produced, is too well known to require a comment, and it has been too often artfully excited for criminal purposes. The same observation will apply to other violent impressions upon the body, such as that occasioned by rapid and uneasy travelling, dancing,[62] walking, &c. Blood-letting also, if carried to any extent, will be liable to occasion miscarriage. _Belloc_ relates a case in which these means were criminally used for such a purpose; the woman was bled by a medical practitioner, when, after his departure, the bandage was removed, and a farther quantity of blood taken. But all the modes above related were soon discovered not only to be highly dangerous to the woman, but extremely precarious in their results; and hence a practice appears to have early originated of ensuring the exclusion of the ovum by the more direct and certain method of introducing a stillet, or some sharp-pointed instrument into the uterus; an allusion to an instrument of this kind was made on the trial of _Charles Angus_ (_vol._ ii, _p._ 177) and was described as a _silver tube with a slide, at the end of which was a dart with three points_. _Ovid_[63] appears to allude to this operation in the following passage.

——“sine crescere nata.
Est pretium parvæ non leve vita moræ.
Vestra quid effoditis subjectis viscera telis;
Et nondum natis dira venena datis.”?

The practice is also reprobated by _Tertullian_,[64] who has described the instrument with which the operation of penetrating the ovular membranes was performed, “_est etiam æeneum spiculum quo jugulatio ipsa dirigitur, cæco latrocinio_ εμβρυοσφακτην _appellant, utique viventis infantis peremptorium_.”

It is hardly necessary to remark that such an operation, unless performed by a skilful surgeon, will be very liable to endanger the life of the female. _Guy Patin_ relates the case of a midwife who was hanged at Paris for occasioning the death of a lady in that city, by an attempt to procure abortion by this method. On her trial she said she had frequently practised it with success; but, in this case it seems, the instrument had pierced the body of the uterus, instead of passing through the os internum. We have already noticed a parallel case which occurred at Durham, see _page_ 72.

In cases of criminal abortion the medical practitioner may be called upon to deliver an opinion upon the circumstances of the case. The data from which he is to draw his conclusions have been already fully investigated in different parts of this work. We must therefore refer the reader to the Physiological Illustrations of Conception and Parturition, _vol._ i, _p._ 230, and to our directions for conducting the dissection of the uterus, _vol._ iii, _p._ 67, for the solution of the different problems to which the consideration of the subject may give origin.

INFANTICIDE.

In cases of alleged infanticide, the evidence of the forensic physician is of the highest importance, and as his opinion upon such an occasion must necessarily go far to influence the judgment, and direct the verdict of the jury, he should be fully prepared to appreciate the difficulties of the case, and to clear away the numerous fallacies, and popular prejudices with which the subject is embarrassed. To _Dr. William Hunter_, the profession and the public owe the deepest obligation, for the philosophical and humane manner in which he examined the general value of physiological testimony in proof of the commission of child-murder. Previous to this enlightened dissertation[65] it is to be greatly feared that many unfortunate women had fallen the innocent victims of false theory and prejudice. The objections, however, so forcibly urged by _Dr. Hunter_ against the validity of certain physiological tests, although well calculated to awaken inquiry, in order to divest such evidence of its fallacy, were not intended, as some have imagined, to discard physiological testimony altogether. With this conviction, we shall proceed to a critical examination of the various proofs which physiology has been supposed capable of affording, in support of an accusation of infanticide.

The objects of this inquiry may be conveniently arranged under four divisions, viz.

1. _To ascertain whether the child was born alive?_

2. _If born alive, whether its death was the result of natural causes;
of wilful murder; or of negligence and abandonment?_

3. _If its death arose from the want of due care, whether such
negligence should be regarded as criminal or accidental?_

4. _Whether the woman accused presents on examination, such
appearances as correspond with her supposed relations to the child?_

Upon each of these heads we shall offer such observations as appear to us to be essential to ensure the safe judgment of the practitioner. Several of the questions, involved in the inquiry, have already engaged our attention in the first volume of the present work, under the history of conception; while the industry with which the numerous authorities on the subject of infanticide, and its scientific relations, have been lately collated by _Dr. Hutchinson_,[66] in England, and _Professor Capuron_, in France, will justify us in giving to this branch of our work the character of a commentary, rather than that of a regular history.

On the discovery of the body of a newly-born infant, it becomes our first duty to ascertain whether the spark of life be entirely extinct; if the sensible proofs of absolute death should be absent, no time is to be lost in subjecting it to those means[67] which are best calculated to excite it to vigorous life, such as external warmth, frictions, inflation of the lungs, &c.

Having satisfied ourselves that the child is dead, we are to proceed to such inquiries, as may enable us to furnish the best possible evidence on the case, in a court of judicature, viz.

1. _To ascertain whether the Child was born alive?_

In the absence of all direct testimony, our investigation is to be conducted upon principles very similar to those which we have already recommended in those obscure cases of death in which “the person is found dead, and the history of his dissolution is unknown.” See _vol._ iii, _p._ 2. The appearances of the corpse—the character of the spot in which it was found—the report of competent witnesses—and the phenomena displayed on dissection, are, in both cases, the circumstances from which we are to elicit data for the solution of our difficult problem.

A. _The inspection of the body of the infant._ By this we are first to learn, whether it had arrived at that degree of maturity which is essential for enabling it to sustain an independent existence—“_etoit il viable?_”[68] If it can be fairly shewn that the child had not reached the end of the seventh month of uterine gestation, the charge of infanticide ought to be withdrawn, although we are well aware that various opinions might be cited in support of a contrary position. (See _Physiological Illustrations_, _vol._ i, _p._ 243.) The weight of the child is a circumstance which should always be ascertained, as being capable of throwing some light on the question at issue. If the fœtus has passed the period of seven months, it will generally weigh four pounds, although upon this point again a difference of opinion has unfortunately existed.[69]

The length of the fœtus, at the full term, is said to vary less than its weight. It is generally from nineteen to twenty-two inches. Seventeen and twenty-six will include the two extremes. _Professor Chaussier_ has presented us with a scale of relative admeasurements, from which he thinks we may deduce the age of a child. He asserts that at the full term of gestation, the middle of the body of the fœtus corresponds exactly with the umbicus; at the eighth month it is two or three centimeters higher; that it approaches still nearer the sternum at the seventh month; and at the sixth falls exactly at the abdominal extremity of that bone.[70] If this statement is to be relied upon, we should be able to conclude, says _Dr. Smith_, that when the middle of the length of the body falls at the cartilago ensiformis, the fœtus must be under the seventh month, and consequently could not have continued to live after birth.

The surface of the fœtus will moreover present an appearance, arising from its great vascularity, which is very characteristic of its immaturity; the red hue, however, to which we more particularly allude, is not acquired until the vessels have attained a certain capacity, and the circulation a considerable degree of vigour; and it is worthy of remark that the appearance becomes again obscure, as the developement of the fœtus advances, from the increasing opacity of the integuments, but in those parts where the deposition of fat in the cellular membrane is wanting, the redness will remain conspicuous, as in the palms of the hands, or in the soles of the feet. The head still maintains an unjust proportion to the rest of the body; the bones of which it consists are extremely soft and yielding; and, on account of the extent of the fontanelles, the connection between them is extremely imperfect. The eye-lids are closed; the hair on the eye-brows and the eye-lashes but thinly scattered; the pupil is generally closed by a membrane; the nails are wanting, or scarcely apparent. The sexual organs will also afford some characteristic appearances. In the male, the testes, between the sixth and eighth month are in progress towards the scrotum; at the end of the seventh they are not yet found there. The scrotum is generally of a bright red colour. In females the vulva is projecting, and the labia separated by the protuberance of the clitoris.

The general external appearance of a fœtus may, moreover, indicate the important fact of its having been retained in the uterus after its death. _Lecieux_ observes that the ordinary term which it remains in the womb, in this state, is from five to twenty days; and that, according to the length of this period, the body will have lost more or less of its consistence and firmness; the limbs become lax, and the muscles are readily torn; the epidermis may be removed by the slightest friction; the skin also assumes a purplish, or brownish-red colour; there is often some bloody serum effused in the cellular tissue, just beneath the skin, especially about the cranium;[71] the umbilical cord is large in circumference, soft, infiltrated with serum, livid, and is very readily torn; the thorax is flattened, the head falls into different shapes, and becomes flattened from its own weight; the membranes which serve as a bond of union to the several bones of the cranium, are much relaxed. The brain is in a nearly fluid state, and emits a fetid odour.