Meason-Due

A corruption of Maiaon do Dieu.

(Corruption of maison de Dieu.) A house of God; a monastery; religious hous6 or hospital. See $Y Eliz.c. 5.

A corruption of Maison de Dieu, (q. v.-) plies the principles and practice of} the different branches of medicine to the elucidation of doubtful questions in courts of justice. By some authors, it is used in a more extensive sense and also comprehends Medical Police, or those medical precepts which may prove useful to the legislature or the magistracy. Some authors instead of using the phrase medical jurisprudence, employ, toconvey the same idea, thuse of legal medicine, forensic medicine, or, as the Germans have it, state medicine. The best American writers on this subject are Doc. tors T. R. Beck and J. B. Beck, Elements of Medical Jurisprudence; _ Doctor Thomas Cooper; Doctor James S. Stringham, who was the first individual to deliver a course of lectures on medical jurisprudence, in this country; Doctor Charles Caldwell. Among the British writers may be enumerated Doctor John Gordon Smith; Doctor Male; Doctor Paris and Mr. Fonblanque, who published a joint work; Mr. Chitty, and Doctor Ryan. The French writers are numerous, Briand, Biessy, Esquirol, Georget, Falret, Trebuchet, Marc, and others have written treatises, or published papers on this subject; the learned Foderé published a work entitled «« Les Lois eclairées par les sciences ou Traité de Médécine oo egale et d’hvgiene publique;” the ‘‘ Annales d’Hygiéne et de Médecine Legale,” is one of the most valued works on_ this _ subject. Among the Germans may be found Rose’s Manual on Medico Legal Dissection; Metzger’s Principles of Legal Medicine, and others. The reader is referred for a list of authors and their works on Medical Jurisprudence, to Dupin, Profession d’Avocat, tom. ii. p. 343, art. 1617 containing an assortment of medicines. The act of congress for the government and regulation of seamen in the merchant service, sect. 8,1 Story’s L. U. 8. 106, directs that every ship or vessel, belonging to a citizen or citizens of the United States, of the burthen of one hundred and fifty tons or upwards, navigated by ten or more persons in the whole, and bound on a voyage without the limits of the United States, shall be provided with a chest of medicines, put up by some apothecary of known reputation, and accompanied by directions for administering the same; and the said medicines shall. be examined by the same or some other apothecary, once, at least, in every year, and supplied with fresh medicines in the place of such as shall have been used or spoiled; and in default of having such medicine chest so provided, and kept fit for use, the master or commander of such ship or vessel shall provide and pay for all such advice, medicine, or attendance of physicians, as any of the crew shall stand in need of in case of sickness, at every port or place where the ship or vessel may touch or trade at during the voyage, without any deduction from the wages of such sick seaman or mariner. And by the act to amend the above mentioned act, approved March 2, 1805, 2 Story’s Laws U. S. 971, it is provided that all the provisions, regulations, and penalties, which ate contained in the eighth section of the act, entitled “An act for the government and regulation of seamen in the merchants’ service,” so far as relates toa chest of medicines to be provided for vessels of one hundred and fifty tons burthen, and upwards, shall be extended to all merchant vessels of the burthen of the whole, and bound from the United States to any port or ports in the West Indies.