Foeticide

In medical jurisprudence. The act of criminal abortion. 1 Beck, Med. Jur. 288; Guy, Med. Jur. 133. FOETURA (Law Lat.)

In civil law. The produce of animals, and the fruit of other property, which are acquired to the owner of such animals and property by virtue of his right. Bowyer, Mod. Civ. Law, c. 14, p. 81. FOETUS (Lat.)

In medical jurisprudence. An unborn child; an infant in ventre so mere. and not eaten in summer. Spelman; Cowell. Distinguished from "hay.'^

In Medical Jurisprudence. Of late years this term has been applied to designate the act by which criminal abortion is produced. 1 Beck, Med. Jur. 288; Guy, Med. Jur. 133. See Infanticide. FCETURA (L. Lat). In Civil Law. The produce of animals, and the fruit of other property, which are acquired to the owner of such animals and property by virtue of his right. Bowyer, Mod. C. L. c. 14, p. 81. FOETUS (Lat). in Medical Jurisprudence. An unborn child. An Infant in ventre sa tn^re. An arbitrary distinction Is made by some writers between feetus and embryo, the latter term being used for the product of conception up to the fourth month of gestation and the former term after the fourth month. Although It is often important to know the age of the foetus, there Is great dicaculty in ascertaining the fact with the precision required in courts of law. The great difference between children at birth, as regards their weight and size, is an Indication of their condition while within the womb, and is a suf Qcient evidence of the difficulty as to the age of the foetus by its weight and size at different periods of its existence. Thousands of healthy infants have been weighed Immediately after birth, and the extremes have been found to be two and eighteen pounds. It is very rare Indeed to find any weighing as little as two pounds, but by no means uncommon to find them weighing four pounds. So it is with the length, which varies as much as that of the adult does from the average height of the race. Neither can anything positive be learned from the progress of development; for although the condition of the bones, cartilages, and other parts will gen* erally mark with tolerable accuracy the age of a healthy fmtus, yet an uncertainty will arise when it is found to be unhealthy. It has been clearly proved, by numerous dissections of new-born children, that the foetus is subject to diseases which interfere with the proper formation of parts, exhibiting traces of previous departure from health, ment may be to the philosophical inquirer, they cannot be of much value in legal inquiries from their extreme uncertainty in denoting precisely the age of the foetus by unerring conditions. See Amer. Text Book Obstetrics; 1 Beck, Med. Jur. 249; Billord on Infants, Stewart trans. 86, 87, and App.; Ryan, Med. Jur. 187; 1 Chitty, Med. Jur. 403; Dean, Med. Jur.; 2 Witth & Beck. Med. Jur. 291. And see the articles Bikth; Dbad-Bobn; En Vbntrr sa Mbrb; Fobticibb; Infanticide; Lifb; Pregnancy; QxncKBNiNG; Viability;