Legal Term: WOUND

Definition: med. jur. This term, in legal medicine, comprehends all lesions of the body, and in this it differs from the meaning of the word when used in surgery. The latter only refers to a solution of continuity, while the former comprises not only these, but also every other kind of accident, such as bruises, contusions, fractures, dislocations, and the like. Coopers Surgical Dict. h. t., Dunglisons Med. Dict. h. t., vide Dictionnaire des Sciences Medicales, mot Blessures 3 Fodere, Med. Leg. ,687-811.

2. Under the statute 9 Geo. IV. c. 21, sect. 12, it has been held in England, that to make a wound, in criminal cases, there must be ",an injury to the person by which the skin is broken.", 6 C. &, P. 684, S. C. 19 Engl. C. L. Rep. 526. Vide Becks Med. Jur. c. 15, Ryans Med. Jur. Index, h. t., Roscoes Cr. Ev. 652, 19 Engl. Com. L. Rep. 425, 430, 526, 529, Danes Ab. Index, h. t., 1 Moodys Cr. Cas. 278, 4 C. &, P. 381, S. C. 19 E. C. L. R. 430, 4 C. &, P. 446, S. C. 19 E. C. L. R. 466, 1 Moodys Cr. C. 318, 4 C. &, P. 558, S. C. 19 E. C. L. R. 526, Carr. Cr. L. 239, Guy, Med. Jur. ch. 9, p. 446, Merl. Repert. mot Blessure.

3. When a person is found dead from wounds, it is proper to inquire whether they are the result of suicide, accident, or homicide. In making the examination, the greatest attention should be bestowed on all the circumstances. On this subject some general directions have been given under the article Death. The reader is referred to 2 Becks Med. Jur. 68 to 93. As to, wounds on the living body, see Id. 188.

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