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MEDICAL JURISPRUBEISrCE

Cold'— Ordinarily, adults are presumed to live longer than the young

and the old, as the former endure cold better than the latter. Men gene-
rally bear cold better than women, but this hypothesis should be modified
by the amount and kind of clothing, the physical condition of the body,.
and the habit of using alcohol or other intoxicating drugs.

Heat.— Adults do not bear heat so well as children and old people, and
the former are, therefore, supposed to die before the latter if exposed- to a
•common danger of heat.

Burns.— Children die sooner from the effects of extensive burns than
adults, as the former are very susceptible to shock ; the same is true of old
people as compared with adults.

Delivery.— When mother and child die during delivery without wit-
nesses, there is a strong presumption that the mother survived the child,
but, if she died of haemorrhage, it would .be presumed that she died first.
But' it should be remembered that in cases of survivorship of a child it will
be necessary to prove that the child was born alive.

In addition to the above considerations, the medical man should note
the presence of a degree of warmth, rigor mortis or decomposition to ascer-
tain which died first, if several bodies meeting with death in the same
accident were sent to him for post-mortem examination.