38 THE METHOD OF MAKING POST-MORTEM EXAMINATIONS. 



importance to examine thoroughly both macroscopically and microscop- 

 ically every part of the body from which light may be derived as to the 

 cause of death, for in medico-legal cases it is not infrequently as impor- 

 tant to be able by a complete examination to declare the absence of le- 

 sions which could cause death as to determine the presence of those upon 

 which the opinion as to the actual cause of death in a particular case 

 rests. Bearing this in mind, the technique of autopsy-making is essen- 

 tially the same whatever the ends which the facts elicited may be des- 

 tined to serve. 



Autopsies in Cases of Suspected Poisoning. 



In cases of suspected poisoning which may possibly have a medico - 

 legal bearing, the examination should be made with extreme care and 

 thoroughness. The inspection of the body and the examination of all 

 the viscera should be thorough and detailed. Every appearance should 

 be noted at the time, and nothing left to the memory. It is well to have 

 an assistant record the observations as they are made. The disposition 

 of the parts and organs in jars should also be noted at the same time. 



It is important to remember that many poisons destroy life without 

 producing appreciable lesions, and also that many cases of sudden death 

 occur, not due to poisons, and without any discoverable cause. 



In bodies which are exhumed for examination, the tissues may be so 

 changed by decomposition that it is impossible to say whether lesions 

 have or have not existed. In such cases the careful and separate preser- 

 vation of the viscera and other parts for chemical examination, is often 

 all that can be done. 



It is always best, in cases of suspected poisoning, to preserve for the 

 chemist not only the stomach and intestines, but the entire liver and 

 brain ; or, if only portions of these can be saved, these portions should 

 be carefully weighed, as well as the entire organs, and the relative 

 amount of tissue reserved carefully noted at the time. It is even well, 

 particularly in cases in which the administration of the readily diffusible 

 poisons, such as arsenic, strychnia, etc., is suspected, to preserve the 

 whole of all the internal organs, together with a large piece of muscle 

 and bone ; since with large quantities of tissue the results of the chemi- 

 cal analysis depend less upon calculations, and are hence more compre- 

 hensible to the average jury. In all such cases jars should, if possible, 

 be procured which have never been used before, and these should be 

 carefully washed and rinsed with distilled water. They should have 

 glass stoppers and be sealed at once and carefully labelled before leaving 

 the hands of the operator. If they can be delivered to the chemist with- 

 out much delay, no preservative fluid should be added. If they are to 

 be kept for a considerable time, pending the action of a coroner's jury 

 or for some other reason, a small quantity of pure strong alcohol may 

 be poured over them. In this case the operator should be particular to 

 preserve a quantity, at least half a pint, of the specimen of alcohol used, 



