relative, became alarmed as time passed and he did not call upon her. She finally sent to Blackwell's Island, and learned that he was not there, but had been away for a number of days, and there was no clew to his whereabouts. She then went to police-headquarters on August 18th, and saw the following report, filed August 11th: The body of a man was found off Pier 9, East River; about fifty years old, five feet nine inches tall, weighing about one hundred and fifty pounds; gray hair and mustache, and beard about a week's growth; gray eyes; mixed black-andbrown ribbed vest, blue-and-brown striped trousers, white shirt, leather belt about the waist, black Prince Albert coat; in the water about five hours.' To Mrs. Quinn this description seemed to tally with that of her missing husband in every particular. She arrived at the morgue the following morning armed with a tintype. The body had been buried in Hart's Island, but the photograph taken before burial left no room for doubt in the mind of the wife. The pictures were compared and carefully scrutinized by the authorities at the morgue, and the policeman stationed there said, 'You could not tell one from the other.' Mrs. Quinn wanted to make sure. She went to Hart's Island on Monday, where the body was disinterred for her, and not only she, but her eldest son Matthew and a friend, positively identified the body as that of her husband. In a sealed coffin the body was taken back to the morgue, while the supposed widow went to the office of the Prudential Insurance Company, from whence an agent was sent to adjust the claim. To him the evidence seemed so complete that Quinn was dead that the claim, $165, was paid in full. The funeral followed, which the widow and her three sons attended, together with a friend. Even the clothing on the dead man was burned, so positive was the identification. Shortly after the funeral her eldest son, who was employed on the island steamer, walked in and told her that he had seen her husband in the hospital, and that she had buried the wrong man. It appeared that in his adventures about the city the man had contracted pneumonia, and had finally brought up in the hospital on August 29th."

With regard to the insurance money, it may be added that the woman paid it back at once, receiving a receipt in full from the company. Indeed, the small amount of the money, and the fact that the bulk of it must have been spent on the funeral, preclude the idea of a fraudulent identification. Here was a case where a body was positively identified by five persons, including the wife, as that of her husband. Not only were the city officials satisfied of the validity of the recognition, but the insurance company also. The photographs were compared by certainly ten persons, and declared to be those of the same individual. Yet all were mistaken. Another case equally singular happened about the same time. It occurred in connection with the Halliday murder in this State. The bodies of two women found in the Halliday barn were first identified as those of Halliday's daughter and granddaughter, although not without some difference of opinion on the part of the relatives, as the two sons of Halliday denied that the bodies were those of their sister and niece, while other relatives were just as positive that they were. Within twenty-four hours the bodies were identified again as those of a certain Margaret M'Quillan and her daughter, by a second set of relatives equally positive. All this happened before decomposition had become sufficiently far advanced to account for

the errors.

Cases like these, where the nearest relatives of an individual have been mistaken in the identity of a corpse, should sufficiently emphasize the care which it is requisite for the medical examiner to exercise in that part of the external examination which is intended to establish or confirm the question of the identity of the corpse. To this end, after noting the appearance of the body with regard to blood-stains, extraneous dirt, etc., it should be carefully washed. This is necessary not only to facilitate the inspection for the purpose of establishing identity, but also to prevent the drawing of erroneous conclusions from superficial appearances. Strange as it may seem, the stains produced by ingrained dirt have been mistaken for the marks of commencing decomposition, also for contusions. The external examination should commence with the head, and be completed in an orderly manner. The special external details necessary for establishing identity are treated of in another article. If the identity of the body is beyond dispute, many of the details of the external examination, as far as this relates to identification, may in the discretion of the examiner be omitted, always bearing in mind, however, the fact that certain questions may be settled at this time which, arising later, when decomposition has advanced, cannot be answered. It is better in a doubtful case to be over-particular than to regret an omission when it is too late to remedy it.

The body should now be examined for contusions, recent fractures, and external wounds. The region of the scalp should be particularly observed, for extensive ecchymoses are frequently found in this locality, especially on the lateral and posterior surface of the head, and not necessarily associated with fracture of the skull. Sometimes they cannot be seen until the scalp has been retracted, previous to the removal of the calvarium. If this is done at this juncture for the purpose of determining the existence of a suspected ecchymosis, the brain should be left in situ. In general, it is better to defer the removal of the calvarium until the examiner is ready to proceed with the inspection of the brain. The region of the neck should always be examined for finger-marks and the lividities produced by throttling. Other evidences of violence about the neck, such as the circular or oblique marks left by a cord, are to be noted and described; if multiple, this fact should be particularly mentioned. Some writers regard this as proof that death was homicidal and not self-inflicted. When wounds of the neck are present, their direction should be carefully observed, also their extent and number. Suicidal wounds made by a right-handed person run from left to right, while homicidal wounds take the opposite direction. The so-called tentative wounds of the suicide are to be noted.

As the court must depend upon the medical examiner for a description of the wounds, their nature, direction, etc., the matter is here briefly mentioned. In making the external examination of wounds, the most important question with regard to determining the manner of their infliction is that of direction. In describing a wound this is the first and most important detail. With a view of determining the character of the weapon, the peculiarities of the wound are next to be described, whether incised, lacerated, or contused. With regard to wounds with clean-cut edges, the examiner is cautioned against hastily calling them incised, particularly when on the scalp, where a blow from a bludgeon may produce a wound having all the characteristics of that inflicted by a cutting instrument. In penetrating wounds extreme care

should be exercised in the use of the probe, lest the examiner be accused of producing, for instance, a puncture of the intestine, or some other such injury. It is to be kept in mind that the lawyers for the defense will look not for a probable but for any possible circumstance, no matter how remote, which may exculpate their client or throw doubt on his conviction. It is better, therefore, to use the probe simply to determine the direction of a wound, and leave the question of extent to a subsequent dissection to decide. Of course the dimensions of all external wounds require mention. In mentioning their situation the measurements should always be taken from fixed bony points.

The question whether a wound has been inflicted before or after death is more fully treated in another article. It is sufficient to suggest here that the edges of wounds be examined for retraction, - ecchymosis, swelling, and the depths for clotted blood. These circumstances all point to a wound inflicted during life. If pus be found, or other evidences of inflammation, this should be mentioned, as it is evident that the person must have survived the infliction of the wound some time. The examiner should not be content with a superficial description of a wound. He should state exactly what vessels have been divided, what large nerves and other important structures. Foreign bodies should always be looked for, and if found, their location stated. The hands, especially on their palmar surfaces, should be examined for cuts. In cases of homicide there are almost always marks of injury in this situation, particularly if the assault has been committed with a cutting instrument. The external examination of the body may be completed by an inspection of the natural orifices. The mouth and pharynx should be examined for the evidences of the action of corrosive poisons, such as the mineral acids or oxalic acid. In cases where death has resulted from strangulation the mouth and nostrils are often filled with a bloody froth, the tongue and lips swollen. These appearances are to be noted. Sometimes, also, evidences of disease may be seen in this locality, as, for instance, the scars of syphilitic ulcers, or possibly the mucous patches of active disease. So, too, the scarred tongue of epilepsy may be made to tell its story. The pharynx should be inspected for foreign bodies, and such portions of the upper air-passage as are accessible to external examination. The more complete inspection of the larynx and trachea must be deferred until the internal examination of the body. The external auditory meatus on each side is to be inspected for traces of hemorrhage; so with the nasal passages.

The information which is to be gained from an examination of the male genitalia is not usually of much importance, other than as bearing on the subject of identity. In the case of a female, the examination of the vagina and external genitalia is of great importance. The lacerations and injuries which are inflicted on these parts in criminal assaults are often very great, and cannot easily be overlooked. In the case of women who have borne children, or who have been accustomed to sexual intercourse, an assault may have been perpetrated without the infliction of any injury on the genitalia. In such a case the vaginal mucus may be withdrawn on a piece of surgeon's gauze and preserved in a test-tube for subsequent examination by the microscope. In this way the crime of rape may be detected, which otherwise might have escaped notice from the uninjured condition of the pudenda.

It is often of importance to be able to determine the length of time

which has elapsed since death. To facilitate such an estimate, we may divide the period after death into three divisions: first, that period dur ing which the body is cooling, but prior to the inception of rigidity; second, the period of rigidity; third, when rigidity has disappeared and putrefaction has commenced. It is not possible to draw any distinct boundaries between these different epochs, because there are many circumstances which modify both the time of their inception and their duration. These will be treated of in another chapter. With regard to temperature, it may be stated that if a body has an external temperature of 80° F. or over, death has occurred, probably, within four hours. In deaths from certain diseases, such as cholera, hydrophobia, tetanus, in strychnine poisoning, the temperature rises after death. The latter case is the only one likely to be a cause of error to the medical jurist. For the purpose of taking the temperature of the dead body, any surfacethermometer may be used, such as Seguin's or that of Immisch. The instrument is placed on the abdomen, and a reading is taken after it has been in position at least fifteen minutes. The rigidity which occurs after death, the so-called rigor mortis, does not as a rule come on until from two to three hours after death, and in previously healthy persons dying suddenly, not for some hours later. In such a case as the last mentioned, which is that most likely to come under the notice of the medical jurist, if rigor mortis be well marked death has almost certainly occurred at least six hours previously, and possibly twelve hours may have elapsed since death occurred. In the temperate zone putrefactive changes do not appear, unless under exceptional circumstances, until the end of the second day after decease. In death from septic disease putrefaction commences much earlier, but these cases are not of that class in which it is necessary to estimate the period which has elapsed since death. Such a necessity arises usually where the person deceased has previously been in perfect health, and has perished by violence. This consideration will enable the medical examiner to make reasonable and fairly positive assertions with regard to the inferences to be drawn from the appearance of putrefactive changes in such cases, unless the post-mortem examination reveals pathological conditions which compel him to make reservations. Thus it can be said that if a body show the characteristic discoloration of the abdomen together with lividity of the dependent parts, death has occurred at least forty-eight hours previously, if the season be summer; while in the winter from seventy-two to one hundred and twenty hours will elapse before the appearance of the characteristic discolorations. As all such questions as these are likely to come up in a medico-legal inquiry, it has been thought best to refer to them in connection with the external examination of the body. They will be found in another chapter, where they are treated at length.

In the inspection of the body for injuries such as contusions, etc., there is one precaution to be observed: the petechiæ of decomposition should not be mistaken for the extravasations of contusions. A curious instance in which this error was committed lately came to the writer's notice. A young man of dissipated habits in a fit of despondency committed suicide by taking laudanum. The ambulance surgeon who was called to the case found him dead on arrival, and after examining the body returned to the hospital. The friends of the young man lived in a distant city, and after the coroner's inquest the body was sent to them.

Some days thereafter an indignant communication came to the hospital, in which it was charged that the young man had been the victim of foul play, owing to the fact that the body was "covered with bruises when received." As a matter of fact, there was no truth in the suspicions of the relatives. It appears that they were quite ignorant of the vicious habits of the deceased, and had mistaken the petechiae of decomposition for contusions. There were, however, a number of witnesses to the circumstances of the young man's death, and the mistake resulted in no harm. It is easy to see, however, how very serious might be the results of such a blunder. To make the distinction between the ecchymoses resulting from violence and the lividities of decomposition is not difficult. In the first place, the ecchymosis is a true hemorrhage, which the lividity is not; therefore an incision into the former will either be followed by the escape of the effused blood, or, what is more common, a subcutaneous clot will be found. Post-mortem lividities are displaced by pressure of the fingers; ecchymoses are not. That an actual hemorrhage ever occurs after incision must be quite exceptional, and can only happen when for some reason the blood retains its fluidity long after death. In the post-mortem lividity, the incision is not followed by the escape of blood, nor is there any clot present. The position of the spots is significant. When of postmortem origin, they are found on the most dependent portions of the body, such as the calves of the legs, the posterior parts of the arms. The sides of the chest posteriorly are almost always the seat of these postmortem discolorations, which, as they extend downward, coalesce until the back presents the appearance of a uniform suggillation. The time at which the discoloration appears is of some importance, post-mortem spots not appearing until an interval of some hours after death. No exact time can be fixed, however, for their appearance, as this varies according to climate, season, cause of death, as well as for other reasons at present unknown. Of course, if the injury which caused the discoloration occurred some time before death, swelling may be found in the vicinity, and the ecchymotic spot will be elevated above the surrounding surface -something which never happens in a post-mortem spot. So also the color of the ecchymosis may be characteristic, if time sufficient shall have elapsed before death for the familiar changes to occur. No such changes take place in the petechiae of decomposition. When decomposition is far advanced, the difficulty of distinguishing between the ecchymosis and the spots of decomposition increases greatly. It is impossible to say at what period it becomes impossible to make the distinction. This is a matter which must be left to the discretion of the examiner. It is very doubtful whether such a distinction should be attempted after the skin is far advanced in decomposition.

Internal Examination.-The technique of an autopsy is very different from that of a dissection. The broad and vigorous sweep of the knife with which the incisions are made to expose the viscera is very different from the cuts of the dissecting-scalpel. As Virchow remarks in his work on post-mortem examinations, fine work may occasionally be required for pathological anatomy, yet it is not the rule. It may be further stated that in the majority of medico-legal inspections it is still more exceptional for the necessity for fine dissections to occur. The ordinary dissecting-case is therefore not well adapted for the purposes of an autopsy. The incisions in the soft parts are of two kinds: first, that