Definition of Caesarean Operation

A surgical operation whereby the foetus, which can neither make its way into the world by the ordinary and natural passage, nor be extracted by the attempts of art, whether the mother and fœtus be yet alive or whether either of them be dead, is, by a cautious and well-timed operation, taken from the mother, with a view to save the lives of both or either of them. This consists in making an incision into the abdomen and uterus of the mother and withdrawing the fœtus thereby. If this operation be performed after the mother's death, the husband cannot be tenant by the curtesy; since his right begins from the birth of the issue, and is consummated by the death of the wife; but, if mother and child are saved, then the husband would be entitled after her death. Wharton.