A dissertation on infanticide, in its relations to physiology and jurisprudence / [William Hutchinson].
- Hutchinson, William, M.D., active 1821.
- Date:
- 1821
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A dissertation on infanticide, in its relations to physiology and jurisprudence / [William Hutchinson]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![/ CASE IN WHICH THE INFANT HAS NOT KEEN CONCEALED. When it appears that the body is dead, in¬ formation of the circumstance should be given to the constable, or superintendant of the parochial police, and the Medical Practitioner must not dissect the body for any purpose, unless he re¬ ceive an order to that effect from the Coroner. ]t is under the inquisition of the Jury, too, that he will be required to execute this examination. § III. The foregoing remarks apply especially to a body that has been discovered in a retired place, and which is supposed to have died from criminal means ; but it may happen that similar conjectures may apply to one that has been, from the time of its birth, constantly in the pre¬ sence of known persons. In this case, the Me¬ dical Practitioner will enquire whether or not it thus close the canal of the oesophagus, and consequently prevent the air passing into the stomach . The tongue is then to be drawn forwards between the lips on one side of the mouth; a tube of any kind, (a portion of a quill, a piece of a tobacco-pipe, or a roll of paper, in want of better means,) is to be passed into the mouth half an inch be¬ yond the gums, on the other side, the lips closed all round it, and a stream of air blown through the tube (the air may be furnished by the mouth of a person, but he should fill his mouth with the requisite air without drawing it down into his lungs; he may thus fill the lungs of the child with nearly pure air), with as much force as he can exert with the muscles of his cheeks. This insufflation is to be made repeatedly; at each time he may propel all the air he can contain in his mouth : a slight compres- sion of the chest should be made after each insufflation, and of the belly too if it be distended by it. This measure is to be employed at the same time with the other resto¬ rative means, and should be continued for at least one hour; and then resorted to after an interval of half an hour, (during which time the use of the other means is to be con¬ tinued,) and persevered in for half an hour longer. Hope of their success after this period cannot be rationally entertained. In the foregoing remarks, 1 have had in view the instruction of the public in the means proper for restoring suspended animation, as cases may occur in which it is de¬ sirable that they should be employed without delay, when the attendance of a Medical Practitioner cannot be quickly obtained: but, I urgently advise the latter to make an opening into the trachea, instead of blowing into the mouth, in all cases where he is not satisfied, by the elevation of the ribs, that the lungs are really inflated by the latter method: as the glottis of new-born infants is sometimes closed by a viscid mass of mucus, which forms an obstacle that cannot be removed by blowing into the mouth. In the case of resuscitation of the child, the danger of ill consequences from the ope¬ ration here advised is almost a nullity,- it is certainly not worthy of comparison to the advantages that may be derived from it in certain cases; nor to the danger arising from the injury caused by passing an instrument within the glottis.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30347543_0012.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
