The principles of forensic medicine, systematically arranged and applied to British practice / John Gordon Smith.

  • Smith, John Gordon, 1792-1833.
Date:
1827
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The principles of forensic medicine, systematically arranged and applied to British practice / John Gordon Smith. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    have come out under names of high repute, or the multiplicity of papers, facts, and allusions that have been continually presented to the public, through a variety of channels, he may well infer that he himself has not laboured in vain. The treatises are in the hands of the judgés, magistrates, and counsel; and their influence is constantly mani- fested by the mode in which important trials, de- pending upon medical testimony, are now conducted. Medical men go into courts of justice (which, tll lately, were places of real as well as of ideal horror,) with gredter confidence, because they are better qualified for the discharge of their duty as witnesses ; and any one who may have taken the trouble to in- spect the proceedings, or peruse the reports of pro- ceedings on such occasions, must be satisfied that we acquit ourselves much better than lately we were wont, or, perhaps it may be said, were able to do. it would be almost superfluous at this time of day to point out the precise nature and objects of what is commonly termed Medical Jurisprudence, still less to premise any formal account of the nature and | importance of that branch of which we are now about to treat. Lf, however, this be a desideratum on the part of any one who may open the present volume, a glance at the contents, or at the index, will convey more information than could conveniently be afforded in any other manner equally brief—to these, there- fore, such are referred. But there are several topics which in an introductory, and rather distinct portion of the volume, require some notice, in order to the perfection of the volume itself: to these the atten- tion of the reader is requested before he enters on the subsequent details. I would begin by observing; that as the Science 1]