The information which may be occasionally derived from the state of the objects surrounding the body, will be best illustrated by the numerous cases in which they have furnished the principal means of discovery.
Whether the spot in question be of a description to explain the cause of the deceased having been found there; or how far its retired situation excites the suspicion that the body has been conveyed thither for concealment, or some other purpose?—Having examined all the circumstances which attach to the person of the individual, we should direct our attention to the spot in which the body is found. The Cornish case which is related at page 27, offers an admirable illustration of the utility of such observations. The nature of the place may perhaps suggest the probability of the person having fallen down from some height, in which case any appearance of wounds must be examined with reference to such a suspicion. We may also in the progress of such an inquiry be led to conclude that the spot may have been infested with some unwholesome vapour, destructive of life; the various circumstances which may contribute to the generation of noxious air have been fully examined under the head of Suffocation, vol. ii, p. 48, and were we to discover a dead body in the vicinity of a lime-kiln, or in an unventilated apartment, where charcoal[19] had been burning, or in a cellar where carbonic acid might probably have accumulated, we should derive an important clue for the investigation.
Whether any indications of a struggle having happened on the spot are visible on the ground, or herbage near the deceased; and whether any footsteps can be traced near the body?—The Cornish case presents itself to us again in illustration of this question. There are also several cases where impressions upon the snow have led to the detection of the guilty party. In the case of Wm. Spiggot, Wm. Morris, David Morgan, Walter Evans, Charles Morgan, and David Llewellin, for the murder of Wm. Powell, Esq. at Glenareth, in Caermarthenshire, March 30, 1770, footsteps were traced from Powell’s house (a deep snow having just fallen) to that of Charles Morgan, who was in consequence apprehended, and did not long deny the fact. Some very interesting evidence was delivered upon the subject of footsteps, on the celebrated trial of Abraham Thornton, for the murder of Mary Ashford, at the Warwick assizes of 1817. William Lovell, a workman at Penn’s Mills, and several other witnesses, spoke as to the presence and direction of the footsteps of a man and a woman, which approached each other at one spot; their appearance shewed that the persons had been running, and dodging each other, “as well from the stride, as the sinking in of the ground, and the little scrape at the toe of the woman’s shoe.” The footsteps were afterwards compared with the shoes of Thornton, and found to coincide; the shoes, moreover, had a particular nail, called a sparrow bill, the impression of which was also perceptible. The same comparison was made with the shoes of the unfortunate Mary Ashford, and with a result which appeared to be equally satisfactory and conclusive. Instances have also occurred in which the presumption of guilt against certain persons has arisen from the absence of such marks; this happened in the murder of Mr. Jeffries, by Elizabeth Jeffries, his niece, and John Swan, his servant, at Walthamstow, in July 1751; in which case the perpetrators of the deed were suspected to have been domestics, from the single circumstance of the dew on the grass surrounding the house not having been disturbed on the morning of the murder, which must have happened, had any persons left the premises.
Has there been any thunder storm?—For an account of the appearances in the body of a person, who has been thus suddenly deprived of life, we must refer the reader to our chapter on “Death by Lightning,” vol. ii, p. 63. It will, at the same time, be right to consider, whether the death of the person in question can have arisen from an exposure to the rays of the sun, which has occasionally happened in the harvest field—“And Manasses was her husband, of her tribe and kindred, who died in the barley harvest. For as he stood overseeing them that bound sheaves in the field, the heat came upon his head, and he fell on his bed, and died in the city of Bethulia.” Judith, chap. viii, v. 2, 3. Sauvage relates the case of several young persons, who suffered an asphyxia from sleeping in an open field, exposed to the rays of the sun; and it may deserve notice in this place, that in such cases, hemorrhage from the nose is not an uncommon occurrence; the appearance of blood will thus receive an explanation which might otherwise excite unjust suspicions of violence.
Whether any, and what weapons are lying near the body; and what is their position in relation to it?—Much light may be thrown upon the inquiry by an attentive examination of the weapons found near the deceased; and some interesting cases are recorded, wherein this circumstance alone led to their developement. In the year 1764, a citizen of Liege was found shot, and his own pistol was discovered lying near him; from which circumstance, together with that of no person having been seen to enter or leave the house of the deceased, it was concluded that he had destroyed himself; but on examining the ball, by which he had been killed, it was found to be too large ever to have entered that pistol; in consequence of which, suspicion fell upon the real murderers. The wadding of the pistol has also in several instances offered the means of affixing the accusation on the guilty. The Lord Chancellor, in a debate in the House of Lords, in November 1820, quoted a very curious case in which the wadding of the pistol was found to correspond with a torn letter in the possession of the murderer.
If the body is found in the water, are there any and what reasons for supposing that it was killed by other means, and subsequently thrown into the water?—This question has upon several occasions been discussed with great eagerness; see the Reports of the Edinburgh Colleges in the case of Sir James Standfield, in our Appendix, p. 225; and also Extracts from the medical evidence in the case of Spencer Cowper, Esq. for the murder of Sarah Stout, ibid. p. 230. We have already, under the consideration of the phenomena of drowning, p. 35, endeavoured to appreciate the true value of the several indications which have been received as physiological evidence upon this subject, such as the presence of water[20] in the stomach and lungs, the buoyancy of the body, &c. We have therefore only to observe in this place, that upon such occasions there will generally exist collateral circumstances to fortify our judgment; where, for instance, mud, or sand, are found under the nails, or any grass or weeds are discovered in the grasp of the deceased, the inference will be strong that the person died under water; on the contrary, if we discover mortal wounds, or any marks of violence inflicted upon the body, by weapons, we may very justly suspect that the deceased was murdered, and subsequently thrown into the water. But in conducting this enquiry we must be aware of the fallacies to which it is exposed; a person may in the act of drowning accidentally receive bruises and lacerations, or he may have been driven against rocks and stakes by the force of the current. The following case, related by Dr. Gordon Smith, offers a very good illustration of this point. “A few years ago, a man who had leaped from each of the three bridges into the Thames with impunity, undertook to repeat the exploit for a wager. Having jumped from London bridge he sunk and was drowned. When the body was found, it appeared that both his arms were dislocated, in consequence of having descended with them in the horizontal, instead of the perpendicular position.” If we arrive at the conclusion that the body was drowned, we have next to inquire whether the event was accidental or malicious? and whether the act was perpetrated by the deceased or others? The solution of these problems is to be generally effected by the examination of what may be called the external circumstances of the case; the locality of the water may be such as to account for the deceased having accidentally fallen into it, or its situation may at once preclude the possibility of such an event. The suspicion of the person having been violently thrown into the water by the hands of the assassin, will be fortified by the discovery of footsteps on the brink, and by the indications of resistance on the part of the deceased, as manifested by the appearance of bruises on the arms and other members of the body. In the case of Mr. Taylor who was murdered at Hornsey, in December, 1818, marks of footsteps, deep in the ground, were discovered near the new river; and on taking out the body, the hands were found clenched, and contained grass, which he had torn from the bank. If the person be found in the water tied hand and foot, there is a strong presumption that he was forcibly placed in such a situation; and yet there are two instances on record which afford very extraordinary exceptions to the truth of such a conclusion. The one occurred in the end of June, 1816, in the case of a gauging-instrument maker, who had been missing from home for several days. His body was discovered floating down the Thames; and on being taken out, his wrists were found tied together, and made fast to his knees, which were in like manner secured to each other. He had been in a state of mental derangement for two years. The cord with which he had tied himself was recognised as one that had hung from the ceiling over his bed, by which he used to raise himself up, having been confined to his bed for several weeks; he was a good swimmer, and it was presumed he had taken the precaution to prevent himself from swimming. The verdict was “found drowned.” The other instance occurred two years afterwards. A man, aged 28, with a wife and children, was reduced to great distress. On a certain day he took an affectionate leave of his family, declaring he would not return until he had obtained some employment, by which he should be able to procure them bread. The following day his body was taken out of the new river, with his hands and legs tied. A card with his address was found in his pocket; and also three-pence; when he left home he had five-pence, and it was supposed that he had purchased the cord with the deficient sum. The verdict in this case was “insanity.”
If the deceased be found hanging by the neck, whether he was suspended during life, or hung up after death? Whether it was an act of suicide or murder?—In cases where the deceased has been hanged alive, we shall find the trace of the rope in the neck very distinctly marked by a deep discolouration; whereas, the effect occasioned by such a ligature upon the dead body, will be far less striking. We have also to inquire whether the deceased has any wounds, or whether, upon dissection, the usual appearances are found which generally occur in hanged persons. But, should any marks of external violence present themselves upon such an occasion, we must judge of them with caution. They may perhaps be purely accidental. Dr. Male supposes a case in which the person, with the view of speedily destroying life, may have thrown himself off with violence, broken the rope, and wounded himself by falling upon articles of furniture, and yet had sufficient fortitude again to suspend himself. “An apprentice boy, in my neighbourhood,” says this author, “working alone in an attic, tied one end of a rope loosely round his neck whilst his master was from home, probably without any intention of destroying himself, and twisted the other round the projecting part of the top of a door, the planks of which were irregular and somewhat divided; a small stool, on which he stood, slipped from under him, when he fell forwards, striking his temple against the corner of a box which cut him to the bone; he lay along the floor, his head and shoulders only elevated a few inches above it; the cord not being tied, had run nearly its whole length, and then caught between the planks of the door; in this state he perished. The wound was magnified by popular rumour into many, and vengeance was denounced against the innocent master, who was accused of having first killed, and afterwards suspended the boy. On examining the boy the mark of the cord was found to extend from ear to ear; the vessels of the brain were turgid, the thyroid cartilage broken; the nails blue, and the hands firmly closed. From this and other important circumstantial evidence, the coroner’s jury were convinced that the charge was unfounded.” Dr. Smith remarks that, except in the instance of children, or extremely feeble persons, it is very difficult to hang an individual by force, unless the situation be remote, and no interruption likely to take place; or the assailants be numerous and powerful enough, (as in the celebrated case of Porteus) to set all interference at defiance.
Persons have been accidentally hanged, as in the case above cited from the work of Dr. Male, and instances are recorded where the operation has been resorted to as a mode of exciting passion. In all such cases of doubt and difficulty, each particular circumstance, however minute, must be noticed—the nature of the ligature—the manner in which it is fixed—the state of surrounding objects, are often capable of throwing light upon the transaction. In the case of George Hebner, a tailor, who was found hanging to the top of a bedstead, in a garret of a house of ill-fame in Dean Street, East Smithfield, kept by a widow of the name of Hughes, the manner in which the hands of the deceased were tied behind his back, and his handkerchief was drawn over his face, proved most decidedly that he had not strangled himself. Upon examining the rope round his neck, it was found to have been fastened by what is termed a sailor’s knot; in consequence of which circumstance a sailor named Richard Ludman, together with the aforesaid Eleanor Hughes, were indicted for the murder, found guilty, and executed.
If the deceased be found in an apartment, whether it be in a house of ill-fame?—Although the act of sudden death in a brothel very naturally excites the suspicion that some act of violence may have been committed, yet this feeling should not be carried too far; we must remember that the individual has been thus exposed, in an increased degree, to the occurrence of several of those natural accidents by which life is so suddenly extinguished; apoplexy, hæmopthysis, and syncope have assailed those who might have been predisposed to such diseases, at the moment of sexual indulgence. In persons advanced in life the trunks of the internal, carotid, and basilary arteries are frequently diseased, and are therefore very liable to rupture whenever the blood is accumulated in any unusual quantity, or the circulation is preternaturally accelerated.
It is merely necessary to enumerate the facts which it is our duty to elicit by such an inquiry, in order to shew their importance and relations; we shall therefore conclude this part of our subject without any farther comments, and proceed to furnish such directions as may enable the medical witness to complete his investigation by the anatomical examination of the body, without which, our preceding researches can never be received as satisfactory and conclusive. “Inspectio ejusmodi cadaveris adeo necessaria est, ut omissa ea, nihil certi de reo statui possit.”[21]
After the observations which we have already offered upon the subject of wounds, it can be scarcely necessary to urge the necessity of a speedy examination of the more superficial lesions, which are likely to be effaced, or changed in character by the progress of decomposition; “putredo mutat formam cadaveris et lesionem.” The deeper wounds may at the same time be inspected, but the greatest care should be taken that they are not extended during the dissection, for unless they be preserved, as far as it is possible, in their natural condition, we shall not be able to establish a satisfactory connection between the external injury, and the internal lesions with which it may be complicated. Having complied with these injunctions, we are to proceed to lay open the cavities. The order in which these operations are to be performed is not of much moment; but let it be generally understood that the discovery of what may appear sufficient to account for death in one cavity, ought never to prevent our proceeding to the investigation of the rest.
Dissection of the brain and its membranes.—The body having been placed on its breast, and the chin raised and supported by a block of wood, the anatomist must proceed by making an incision over the top of the head, from the root of one ear to that of the other; and then by dissecting off the integuments, so as to invert one flap over the face, and the other over the occiput, he will be able to discover whether the scalp has sustained any injury, as indicated by the presence of abscesses, sinuses, contusions, and extravasations; he will, at the same time, ascertain whether any fissure or fracture exist, or any morbid change has occurred in the bone, such as sponginess, exostosis, caries, or exfoliation. In performing this part of his duty, we trust he will not mistake, as Hippocrates[22] confesses he once did, a fracture for a suture, and vice versa. It is not always easy, however, to determine whether a fracture discovered in the cranium, was produced during life. If it should have occurred immediately before the death of the person, there will be found coagulated blood upon the bone and in the fissures; if the individual has survived for some time, there will be marks of inflammation, and perhaps the formation of pus in contact with the skull; but if a fracture has been occasioned in making the dissection, an accident which may occur in the most careful hands, the blood in the fracture will not be coagulated, nor will there be any effusion around the portions. The skull-cap may be now removed; for which purpose the cranium is to be sawed in a circular direction, about a finger’s breadth above the superciliary ridges, and lateral sinuses; the operation must be conducted with great care, or we shall be in danger of wounding the dura mater; the bone must be then divided by a few slight strokes with the chissel and mallet. We shall always find a strong adhesion between the inside of the cranium, and the dura mater; partly, in consequence of the small blood-vessels with which these surfaces are connected, and partly, from the close application of the fibrous structure of the membrane to the bone, and which will vary with the age of the subject, and the form of the skull; the handle of the scalpel carefully introduced will afford the best instrument for overcoming this resistance, and will not be liable to lacerate the dura mater, or to injure the brain. In effecting the separation, the meningeal vessels frequently deluge the whole surface with blood, a circumstance that deserves attention, in as much as their plenitude marks the congestive state of the brain; it shews also that the blood is in a liquid condition, a fact to which some importance has been attached, as it is supposed to occur more particularly in cases of suffocation. The inner surface of the skull may be inspected with the view of ascertaining whether it be carious. The dura mater, thus brought into view, may exhibit marks of inflammation; or coagulated blood or pus may be discovered on its surface, especially in cases where external violence has been inflicted; and it is particularly worthy of notice that such an extravasation, or injury, is not necessarily under the fracture, or part of the cranium upon which the violence that produced it, had been received; on the contrary it often happens that disorganization occurs in the hemisphere opposite to that upon which the blow was struck; a phenomenon to which the term “contre coup” has been aptly applied.[23] The dura mater may now be removed and thrown back, by dividing it all round the margin of the skull, and separating its attachment to the crista galli with a pair of scissars; before we part, however, with this membrane, we should observe whether any osseous deposits,[24] or other morbid alterations are visible in its texture; for such changes are not uncommon in the dura mater, especially in the falx: the tunica arachnoidea thus brought into view may present various morbid appearances; it may be opaque, or water may be found effused under it.[25]. The pia mater often exhibits its veins turgid with blood, which indicates that some impediment had existed to the return of the circulation from the head to the heart. It is very important to distinguish between this appearance and that which is the result of the inflammation of the membrane; in this latter case, it should be remembered, that the small arterial branches are the vessels gorged with blood;[26] and which are so multiplied as to form, by their numerous anastomoses, a beautiful network. In true inflammation also the membrane will be found thickened. There is still another source of fallacy with which the anatomist may have to contend in his examination of this organ, a state of vascular congestion, arising after death, from the effect of gravitation. In attending however to the position of the head, and to the circumstances above mentioned, it will not be difficult to establish a just diagnosis upon these occasions. Before cutting into the brain, we should observe whether the convolutions are furrowed as usual, for when much fluid is contained in the ventricles, as in hydrocephalus, the sulci are more or less obliterated. Such a change, therefore, will offer a precaution to the anatomist, to proceed slowly in his dissection, so that the accumulated fluid may not escape. Where a person has been suddenly killed, while in a state of health, the ventricles will, on examination, appear merely lubricated with a fluid; but in cases where the patient has died after protracted disease, more or less serum will be found in these cavities. In our examination of the substance of the brain, we ought to notice its consistence and tenacity, for in many recorded cases, a part of the medullary mass has been found so morbidly soft as to have assumed nearly the consistence of custard; and it has been said to have occurred in cases of fatuity; it seems, however, more correct to consider it as the effects of inflammation: the phenomenon must be carefully distinguished from that natural deliquescence which the whole of the brain undergoes after death, when in an incipient stage of putrefaction. In some instances, the texture of the brain has been found tougher than is natural, and even to have been dry and friable. (See our observations upon the brain in cases of mania, vol. i, p. 327.) Scrophulous and encysted tumours, hydatids, abscesses, and extravasated blood, may also occur, and its cavities may be distended with fluid. The state of the larger blood-vessels should be attentively inspected, for in persons advanced in life there appears to be a strong disposition to disease in the internal carotid and basilary arteries. The great importance of minutely inspecting every part of the brain cannot be too frequently, or too forcibly urged, in cases of forensic inquiry. The instances already recorded (page 16) are sufficient to sanction this assertion; and to these, we may add the following illustration which is to be found in the article Cas Rares of the Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, by M. Fournier, who was called upon for his opinion in a case of alleged murder at Brussels.[27] The deceased had quarrelled with another man, some blows had been interchanged, and he had died a fortnight afterwards, emaciated and completely exhausted. Two of the lowest order of practitioners in France, officiers de Santé, as they are called, inspected the body, and pronounced that death had taken place in consequence of the blows. M. Fournier discovered an extensive suppuration in the brain, with a very carious state of the inner surface of the cranium, and learnt that the deceased had been afflicted with head-aches for twenty years. He therefore declared it to be his opinion, that the man had died of a disease of long standing. In this opinion we concur, but it is not equally clear that the crisis was not accelerated by the violence which he had sustained.[28]
We ought not to quit the examination of the head, until we have examined the base of the cranium, in order to determine whether any fracture exists in that part; a curious case is related by Mr. Charles Bell,[29] of a person who died suddenly some weeks after having received an injury of the head, when it appeared, on dissection, that the base of the skull had been fractured, and that the foramen magnum having been thus roughened, a sudden turn of the head had forced a spiculum of bone into the spinal marrow. The brain has also received fatal injuries from the introduction of pointed instruments through the orbits; Macklin, the comedian, was tried for killing a brother actor by the thrust of his cane. Thomas Dangerfield, one of the celebrated and perjured witnesses on the Popish plot, in the reign of Charles II, was killed by Mr. Robert Francis, by the blow of a cane, the end of which penetrated the orbit.[30] The author also well remembers the case of an old woman, who, in a fit of intoxication, fell to the ground upon the stem of the tobacco-pipe with which she was smoking, when it penetrated the orbit, and occasioned immediate death; the cause of her dissolution was never suspected until after dissection, as no external wound was visible. In some cases it may be considered expedient to extend our anatomical researches into the spinal column, which may be effected by sawing off the transverse processes. The cervical vertebræ should always be examined where dislocation of the neck can be suspected; for in such cases death may be produced without leaving any external vestige of the injury. This has frequently occurred to coachmen and others, who have been crushed while driving under low archways, by which the nerves, necessary for the support of the vital organs have been compressed or lacerated, and death has in consequence ensued. If the cervical vertebræ should be dislocated, a general paralysis will follow, and life can no longer be maintained. M. Petit relates the case of a boy suspended by the head, who striving to disengage himself dropped down dead; and Dr. Monro saw a case where four of the cervical vertebræ were dislocated by a fall, which ended fatally in a few hours.
Dissection of the contents of the thorax.—An incision must be made through the integuments, in a straight line from the os hyoides to the navel; we are then to open into the cavity of the abdomen, for the sake of affording the anatomist free space for his dissections in the chest; and this is to be effected by incisions from the navel to each spine of the ilium, so that we shall have thus described by our dissection a figure resembling the letter Y inverted, thus Image of inverted Y. In performing this part of our labour, it is essentially necessary to avoid puncturing or injuring any of the viscera; where such a blunder has been committed the dissection has lost much of its value. The integuments of the breast are then to be carefully dissected so as to expose the cartilaginous articulations of the ribs, which must be cut through on both sides; the clavicles should also at the same time be separated from the sternum, by dividing the loose cartilage which unites them. The latter bone, together with the cartilaginous portions of the ribs, must be next turned upwards over the face, so that the cavity of the thorax shall be brought into view. In some cases it will be found expedient to make a still more extensive exposure of this cavity; for which purpose a broader flap must be turned up in front, by extending our dissection of the parietes of the thorax farther towards the back; and, instead of cutting through the cartilaginous extremities of the ribs, dividing the bones themselves with a saw. In bending back the sternum, or flap in front, we must take care and divide the mediastinum with the scalpel as near the bone as possible, in order to avoid making any opening into the pericardium, which would otherwise be very apt to happen. As soon as an opening is effected into the thoracic cavity, the lungs collapse, unless the adhesions formed between them and the pleura should prevent it. Our first object will be to observe whether any quantity of fluid is present in the chest, and whether it be limpid, as in dropsy; turbid and containing flakes of coagulated lymph, as in cases preceded by much inflammatory action; or purulent, as in empyema. Having removed the liquid, should any be present, by the application of a large sponge, we must proceed to examine the lungs, as to their colour and general appearance; and, by the introduction of a blow-pipe into the trachea, we should by means of the mouth or bellows inflate these organs, so as to ascertain the degree of distention of which they are susceptible. We may at the same time inspect their structure more minutely by raising each lobe with the hand, introduced into the cavity of the thorax for that purpose. We are next to cut into their substance in order to observe whether they are gorged with blood, and inflamed; whether they are crepitous and light, or dense like liver; and whether they contain any tubercles; should these latter bodies be discovered, we have to ascertain their magnitude, extent, and maturity, and whether any of them have been developed into vomicæ. The anatomist should be cautioned not to mistake the deep colour, and compact texture which occur in the depending portions of the lungs, from the mere accumulation of blood in consequence of gravitation, for an inflamed state of the organs; in which latter case a crowd of fine vessels injected with blood of a florid colour furnish a diagnosis that cannot be mistaken.
In cases where a violent effort has preceded death, violet-coloured spots containing venous blood may be perceived on the surface of the lungs, and which are true ecchymoses, occasioned by the rupture of some small vessels. Such phenomena must be carefully distinguished from the livid, black spots, which have been observed in cases of narcotic poisoning, and which are characterised by a more dense, and less crepitating texture. In this stage of the dissection, we may conveniently extend our examination into the trachea, and bronchiæ, and observe whether these tubes contain frothy mucus as in drowning; coagulated blood, as in pulmonary hemorrhage; pus, as in the event of the rupture of a vomica or impostume; or ropy and tenacious mucus or lymph, as in croup, tracheal inflammation, and bronchitis; or chyme, as may occur in cases of intoxication, and diseases of the brain, where vomiting has taken place during a state of insensibility.[31] We shall at the same time be enabled to ascertain whether any mechanical obstruction, from the presence of foreign bodies, exists in the pulmonary passages, and which might have occasioned death to the patient, as related under our history of suffocation, vol. ii, p. 57.
The pericardium may now be laid open by a longitudinal incision, and we should note the quantity of fluid found in this cavity; in that of a healthy subject there is generally as much as a tea-spoonful of serum. It is important also that we should observe the quality, as well as quantity, of this liquor. Blood has occasionally been found in this situation, when neither a rupture of the heart, or any of its vessels could be discovered; in such cases Dr. Baillie is of opinion that the blood has either passed through the coats of the vessels upon the surface of the heart, by transudation, or been poured out by the relaxed extremities of the small vessels opening upon the surface of that portion of pericardium which forms the immediate covering of the heart.[32] The general appearance of the heart, as to colour, flaccidity, size, and external character, should be observed before its cavities are opened; for the energy of the heart may, in some degree, be inferred from the tension of its fibres, and the red colour of its substance; on the contrary, the opposite appearances would indicate a very different condition of this vital organ, as is well illustrated in the asphyxia idiopathica of Mr. Chevalier.[33] It is not very unusual to find adhesions connecting the heart more or less closely to the pericardium; and it is perhaps worthy of remark that the length of these adhesions will furnish, in some measure, an indication of the interval that has elapsed, since the occurrence of the inflammation by which they were produced; for they become gradually elongated by the heart’s motion. Dr. Baillie has noticed in his “Morbid Anatomy” an appearance which the author has frequently met with in his dissections,—a white opaque spot, as if from a thickening of the pericardium; in some cases, it is not broader than a sixpence, at other times, it equals in size that of a crown piece; it is most commonly situated on the surface of the right ventricle, and consists of an adventitious membrane formed on a portion of the pericardium, which covers the heart, and may be easily dissected off, so as to leave that membrane entire. The attention of the enquirer is directed to the subject with a view to remind him, that the appearance is one that ought not to be considered as morbid in its origin, or dangerous in its effects. In acute rheumatism a fatal translation of the disease to the heart sometimes occurs, in which case, its surface will be found encrusted with coaguable lymph.—The condition of the blood-vessels forms the next object of research; and they should be examined previous to the removal of the heart, as to their calibre, and thickness, and whether any inflammatory indications are observable, or any aneurism; this latter disease has often existed without exciting any suspicion during life. In opening the body of George II, the aorta was found callous at the lower border of its curvature, and so dilated at its upper border, that it was as thin as the finest paper, in which part the rupture took place, and which was succeeded by a fatal hemorrhage; and yet the king, before his death, had not the slightest symptom that appeared to deserve much attention. In every case of sudden death the heart should be removed from the body for the purpose of examination, and no anatomical evidence should be received as conclusive, unless such an operation has been duly performed. For this purpose, the blood-vessels should be first secured by ligatures, for it is very essential to prevent the effusion of blood; and, having then separated it from its attachments, we should proceed to examine the organ in the following manner. Slit open, longitudinally, by means of scissars, the right auricle, at its foreside, then make an incision from the mouth of the pulmonary artery to the point of the heart, guarding against the accident of injuring the two sets of valves; now cut open the whole length of the pulmonary artery, except at its beginning, and at its valves, which ought to be left entire; lastly, open the pulmonary veins, and then the left auricle and ventricle, in a similar manner with what was done to the corresponding parts of the right side.
We beg to direct the attentive consideration of the anatomist to this important part of the inquiry; he ought to notice the quantity of blood contained in the cavities of this organ, as well as its colour, and state of coagulation, especially in relation to the arterial and venous sides of the heart; the indications which such an examination may afford will be fully appreciated by referring to our chapter upon “the causes and phenomena of sudden death,” and that upon “suffocation.” In examining the cavities of the heart, especially the ventricles, it not unfrequently happens, that a mass of coagulated lymph, of a yellowish colour, and of considerable firmness, is found to occupy them; this phenomenon, from the manner in which its processes extend into the fasciculi of muscular fibres of the heart, has acquired the name of “polypus of the heart,” and was regarded by the older anatomists as a very common and fatal disease. It is necessary to observe that the phenomenon is now better understood, and it is universally admitted to be the result of slow coagulation after death. The state of the valves of the heart should be attentively inspected, for a disease in these parts may have been the cause of the sudden death which we are endeavouring to discover. The three semi-lunar valves at the origin of the aorta, and the mitral valves, are sometimes in a state of ossification; those placed at the commencement of the pulmonary artery, and the tricuspid are less disposed to take on morbid action than the preceding ones that occupy the arterial side; indeed, there are very few well authenticated instances of such a change. Such a state of the valves of the heart necessarily places the life of the individual in extreme jeopardy, a rupture may be induced, and thus prove instantly fatal, or the action of the heart may be suddenly arrested, and a fatal syncope be the result; and from the suddenness with which death takes place in such cases, there is no doubt that many persons so dying, have been erroneously included in the list of apoplectic deaths. In certain diseased states of the valves, the extremities of the body become gangrenous, as if the heart were unable to propel its blood to the extreme parts: the author well remembers two females who were admitted into the Westminster hospital, with a disease of this kind, in which the gangrene gradually extended upwards, and that, after death, the valves of the heart were found ossified. The coronary arteries are occasionally ossified, a circumstance which often accompanies a diseased state of the valves of the heart, and that of the aorta; a change which has been regarded as giving rise to the disease, termed angina pectoris, but which would seem to be symptomatic of any morbid state of the heart. In some cases the heart itself has been found ruptured; we have already offered some observations upon this event, under the history of syncope, p. 27. Dr. Baillie has seen only one case, and in that, the blood escaped into the pericardium, and the person instantly expired.
Examination of the abdomen.—In proceeding to the examination of this cavity, and its contents, the first appearance to be noticed, is that of the peritoneum, in which we have to observe whether any marks of inflammation exist, as displayed by a crowd of very small vessels, injected with florid blood, and a change in the texture of the membrane, by which it appears to be thickened, more pulpy, and less transparent. The existence and character of any fluid in the abdominal cavity should be noted, for its nature will be found to be immediately connected with the nature and extent of the disease by which it has been produced; if the liver be schirrous, the fluid will be tinged with bile, and of a yellowish colour; if extreme debility accompany the disease, it will often be of a chocolate colour, from the admixture of blood; should no disease exist in any of the viscera, it will resemble that of the serum of the blood. Previous to the removal of the viscera for more minute examination, it will be proper to observe their general situation and appearance, and to notice particularly whether the calibre of the visceral tube be natural, distended, or contracted; in some instances its diameter is sensibly diminished, as in cases of poisoning by lead. It sometimes occurs that the intestines are glued together with extravasated lymph; and, at others, that the abdominal viscera are more or less joined together by adhesions, which are the effects of former inflammation; these adhesions become gradually so elongated as to produce little or no inconvenience. If upon opening the cavity of the abdomen we should have reason to suspect the existence of any perforations in the stomach or bowels, the anatomist must proceed with great caution, so as not to enlarge their diameters, or alter their appearance. In the case of Miss Burns, the medical report lost much of its value, from the want of due precaution in this particular; see our account of the dissection, vol. ii, page 178. Should the contents of the stomach or intestines have escaped into the general cavity, we should be careful in collecting such matter, with a view to its future analysis. The size and appearance of the stomach must be noted, and we should observe whether any marks of inflammation, or gangrene, are visible on its external surface; in tracing the intestinal tube through its course, any appearance of inflammation, or phlogosis, should be attentively examined; for which purpose a ligature may be passed at some distance above and below the patch, and the portions of the intestine be then removed. In many cases it will be essential to remove the stomach, as where poisoning is suspected; for which purpose double ligatures, about an inch asunder, must be placed above the cardia, and similar ones in the duodenum; the division may then be made by the scalpel in the space between them. The stomach should be examined without delay, for no one who has not been engaged in such researches, can form an idea of the rapidity with which this viscus loses its characteristic appearances by exposure to air. The stomach is to be slit open with a pair of scissars, care being taken that none of its contents are lost. If the deceased had been found in the water, the quantity of that fluid, found in this viscus, should be noted; and under such circumstances, the presence of any weed, mud, or other extraneous matter, requires particular notice. The quantity of alimentary matter will also afford an object of remark, and it will be right to observe whether, by odour or inflammability, the presence of any spirit can be detected. Having then disposed of the contents of the stomach, and referred them to the chemist for examination, we proceed to examine the viscus itself; in the first place, we should be careful in ascertaining whether any white, or shining particles adhere to its coats; if so, the substance must be preserved for future analysis; the cardia and whole interior of the stomach is to be carefully inspected, and every indication of inflammation, ulceration, gangrene, and schirrosity, is to be noted in reference to its exact situation and appearance; with a view to deduce an opinion as to the probability of its being the effect of poisonous ingesta, or of recent, or remote disease. The mucous membrane of the stomach should be squeezed between the fingers, and the nature of the matter, if any should ooze out, must be noted, which on some occasions will furnish a valuable diagnosis; where, for instance, the person had died of melæna, a black matter, similar to that vomited will exude, a phenomenon which is never visible in cases of acrid or corrosive poisoning. We have already entered so fully into the history of gastric perforations, that it will be only necessary to allude to them on this occasion; see vol. i, page 164. The state of the villous coat should always be minutely inspected, we should however be cautious in pronouncing every red appearance as indicative of inflammation; it may in some cases depend upon the presence of colouring matter derived from the ingesta; (see the case related in vol. ii, p. 231.) Nor ought the state of the œsophagus to be overlooked, which in cases of poisoning will afford an important indication; it should, therefore, be removed from the body; had this dissection been performed in the case of Miss Burns, the medical witnesses on that memorable occasion, would have been spared, at least, one great cause of censure. It is not impossible but that the œsophagus may be ruptured in a violent paroxysm of vomiting, and thus be the cause of death. Boerhaave relates an interesting case of this kind, which occurred to Baron Van Wassener, Admiral of Holland.
Rupture of the stomach is an occurrence which sometimes takes place from the action of vomiting, during the progress of ulceration, when the membranes of this viscus are nearly perforated. It also occasionally happens from external violence. In the Medical Repository,[34] a case of ruptured stomach is related by Mr. Brown, in which the accident must have been occasioned by the action of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles, at the time of exertion, the stomach of the individual having, from disease, been less capable of sustaining any degree of violence. The following are the particulars of the case; “A coal-heaver, aged 50, whilst stooping in the act of lifting some coals, placed his hand suddenly on the pit of the stomach, and complained of severe pain in that situation; this was immediately succeeded by two deep sighs, when he dropped down and expired. On dissection, the parts immediately round the opening were in a higher state of vascularity than the rest, and put on a decidedly torn appearance, which was also observable in the peritoneal coat.”
In pursuing the track of the alimentary canal we have to observe whether any marks of peritoneal inflammation present themselves; and whether any signs of inflammation in the muscular or mucous coats are visible through the transparent parietes of the intestine; and although no appearance of this kind can be discovered on the external coat of the bowels, we are not, on that account, to conclude that they have been free from inflammation; we must persevere in our dissection, and slit open the intestines in different parts, especially at the entrance of the ilium into the colon; the valve of the latter gut should also be inspected; nor should the rectum escape our attention, for its extremity is sometimes inflamed together with the stomach, while the intermediate portions of the canal are not in the least affected; this peculiarity occurs in many cases of poisoning, as those, for instance, in which colocynth or elaterium have been exhibited. An empoisoned clyster may have been administered; or, as in the case of King Edward II, a hot poker, or some other instrument thrust up the rectum. We should also in this part of the dissection, ascertain whether any intus-susceptio has taken place, a derangement not very rare, and frequently fatal; it consists in a portion of gut passing for some length within another portion, and dragging along with it a part of the mesentery; it may take place in any part of the canal, but it more usually occurs in the small intestines, especially where the ilium terminates in the colon; in the examination of infants an intus-susceptio is not unfrequently found, which had been unattended with mischief, and in which the natural peristaltic motion of the intestines would have easily disentangled them; but, in other cases, an unrelenting obstruction is established, inflammation follows, and life is soon terminated, as was exemplified in the case of the infant Princess Elizabeth of Clarence.
The liver may present several morbid phenomena, which, in a dissection instituted for the purpose of discovering the cause of death, ought not to be overlooked. It may also be found ruptured, an occurrence which may take place where little or no external injury can be perceived, as from a sudden fall, or from the application of strong pressure applied to the upper part of the abdomen, such as might be occasioned by the passage of a heavy carriage over the body. Morgagni relates several instances of ruptured liver, by mechanical causes, without any considerable injury of the integuments. In the Medical Transactions of the College of Physicians,[35] a very interesting case is communicated by Dr. George Pearson, of a young man who fell with his right hypogastrium and epigastrium, upon the edge of a pail, which he held in his hand, as the sixth step of a ladder, upon which he was standing, suddenly broke; his death happened ten hours after the accident, and upon dissection, the right lobe of the liver was discovered divided, in an oblique direction, through its whole substance, from its extremity on the right side, to the border of the left lobe; the two portions being only connected by the vena cava, and the trunks of the venæ cavæ hepaticæ.
The author has been informed by Dr. Harrison that, while at Mantua, he saw a man who had received a kick on the right hypochondrium from a horse that he was shoeing; he did not complain of much pain at the time, but exhibited an anxious countenance, and was attacked with coffee-ground vomiting. He died on the following day, and upon opening the abdomen the liver was found ruptured, and the peritoneum inflamed.[36]
The spleen may be brought into view for our examination by drawing the stomach towards the right side, when the one viscus will follow the other. This organ, like the liver, may be ruptured by violence; of which we have already cited an instance[37].
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.
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.