Gestation

See "Period of Gestation." GESTIO (Lat.)

In civil law. The doing or management of a thing. Negotiorum gestio, the doing voluntarily without authority business of another. De neg. gest. Gester negotiorum, one who so interferes with business of another without authority. Gestio pro haerede, behavior as heir; such conduct on the part of the heir as indicates acceptance of the inheritance, and makes him liable for ancestor's debts universally, e. g., an entry upon, or assigning, or letting any of the heritable property, releasing any of the debtors of the estate, or meddling with the title deeds or heirship movables, etc. Ersk. Inst. 3. 8. 82 et seq.; Stair, Inst. 3. 6. 1.

UTERO-GESTATION. In Medical Jurisprudence. The time during which a female, who has conceived, carries the embryo or foetus in her uterus. This directly Involves the duration of pregnancy, questions concerning which most frequently arise in cases of contested legitimacy. The descent of property and peerage may be made entirely dependent upon the settlement of this question, as to which see Pbegnancy. There are some women to whom it is peculiar always to have the normal time of delivery anticipated by two or three weeks. Montgomery, Preg. 2C4 So, also, there are many cases establishing the fact that the usual period is sometimes exceeded by one, two, or more weeks, the limits of which it is difficult or impossible to determine. Coke seems Inclined to adopt a peremptory rule that forty weeks is the longest time allowed by law for gestation. Co. Litt. 123 b. But which the child must be born to be legitimate, that of England and America fixes no precise limit, but admits the possibility of the birth’s occurring previous or subsequent to the usual time. A conviction will not be disturbed because the chil^ was bom within a shorter time after the alleged intercourse than the ordinary period of gestation; Peterson v. People, 74 111. App. 178. It is proper to charge the jury that they must be satisfied that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the complainant within the period in which, in the ordinary course of nature, the child could be begotten; Sonnenberg v. State, 124 Wls. 124, 102 N. W. 233. The following are cases in which this question will be found discussed; 3 Bro. C. C. 349; Gardner Peerage case, Le Merchant Report; Cro. Jac. G86; 7 Hazard, Reg. of Penn. 303; 2 Wh. & Still$, Med. Jur. § 4; 2 Witth. & Beck. Med. Jur. 264. See Pbegnancy; PcETus; Viability. GESTIO (T^t). In Civil Law. The doing or management of a thing. Negotiorum gestio, the doing voluntarily without authority business of another. L. 20, C. de neg. gest. Ges Uo negotiorum, one who so interferes with business of another without authority. (icstio pro hwrede, behavior as heir; such conduct on the part of the heir as indicates acceptance of the inheritance and makes him liable for ancestor’s debts universally: e. g. an entry upon, or assigning, or letting any of the heritable property, releasing any of the heritable property, releasing any of the debtors of the estate, or meddling lyith the title-deeds or heirship movables, etc. Ei^klne, Inst. 3. 8. 82 et seq.; Stair, Inst 3. 6. 1.

UTERO-GESTATION. In medica] jurisprudence. The time during which a female, who has conceived, carries the embryo or fetus in her uterus.

med. jur. The time during which, a female who has conceived, carries the embryo or foetus in her uterus. By the common consent of mankind, the term of gestation is considered to be ten lunar months, or forty weeks, equal to nine calendar months and a week. This period has been adopted, because general observation when it could be correctly made, has proved its correctness. Cyclop. of Pract. Med. vol. 4, p. &7, art. Succession of Inheritance. But this may vary one, two, or three weeks. Co. Litt. 123 b, Harg. & Butler’s notes, note 190*; Ryan’s Med. Jurisp. 121; Coop. Med. Jur. 18; Civ. Code of Louis. art. 203-211; 1 Beck’s Med. Jur. 478. See Pregnancy.