Legal Medicine in History [Hardcover]

A collection of essays on the social history of legal medicine including case studies on infanticide, abortion, coroners' inquests and criminal insanity.This collection of essays presents fresh interpretations of the growth of medico-legal ideas, institutions and practices in Britain, Europe and America over the past four hundred years. Based on a wealth of new research, it brings the historical study of legal medicine firmly into the realm of social history.This collection of essays presents fresh interpretations of the growth of medico-legal ideas, institutions and practices in Britain, Europe and America over the past four hundred years. Based on a wealth of new research, it brings the historical study of legal medicine firmly into the realm of social history.This collection of essays presents fresh interpretations of the growth of medico-legal ideas, institutions and practices in Britain, Europe and America over the past four hundred years. Based on a wealth of new research, it brings the historical study of legal medicine firmly into the realm of social history. Case studies of infanticide, abortion, coroners' inquests, and criminal insanity show that legal medicine has often been the focus of social change and political controversy. The contributors also emphasize the formative influence of legal systems on medico-legal knowledge and practice. Legal Medicine in History enlarges our understanding of the public role of medicine in modern Western societies, while opening up new perspectives on social, cultural, and political history.Notes on contributors; Preface; Introduction Michael Clark and Catherine Crawford; Part I. Early Modern Practice: 1. Forensic medicine in early colonial Maryland, 163383 Helen Brock and Catherine Crawford; 2. The scope of legal medicine in Lancashire and Cheshire, 16601760 David Harley; 3. Suspicious infant deaths: the statute of 1624 and medical evidence at coroners' inquests Mark Jackson; Part II. The Growth of a Science: 4.lcÁ