The external parts of generation ought also to constitute an object of inspection. We have already considered the degree of evidence which they are capable of affording upon the subject of virginity, _vol._ i, _p._ 203, 429. In examining the vagina, it will be necessary to observe whether any shining or gritty particles are discoverable, (_see vol._ ii, _p._ 222.) It is also possible that some hard body may have been introduced into the genital organs, for a felonious purpose; a trial for a crime of this nature took place at Durham in the year 1781, when _Magaret Tinckler_ was indicted for the murder of _Janet Parkinson_, by having inserted wooden skewers into the womb, for the purpose of producing abortion; it appeared on dissection that there were two holes, in a gangrenous condition, which these extraneous bodies had occasioned, and to which the deceased had fallen a victim. _East’s P. C. tit. Murder._ Had these skewers been introduced after death, the appearances would have immediately denoted the fact, and could not be mistaken for the effects of inflammation and gangrene. Having concluded our dissection, it will be right to preserve those parts, from whose condition or appearance any legitimate deduction can be made. In cases of poisoning, the stomach and intestines should be kept, for we may require them in our subsequent experiments. In the occurrence of eschars, perforations, and gangrenous, or inflamed patches, the anatomist should remove such appearances together with a portion of the surrounding sound parts, and he should carefully preserve them in alcohol, or in salt and water; and in cases where the state of the uterine system is involved in the inquiry, the uterus and its appendages, should be removed. In the case of _Miss Burns_, the witnesses must have experienced a considerable degree of satisfaction arising from a precaution of this kind, for they were thus enabled to obtain a confirmation of their opinion from the most eminent midwives in London. After this service has been duly performed, the body must of course be committed to the grave; but should it not have been satisfactorily identified, the head ought to be preserved in spirits, in as natural a state as possible, that it may be recognised by the friends of the deceased. A curious instance stands on record, where this precaution led to the detection of the murderers. _Catherine Hayes_, and two accomplices, _Billings_ and _Wood_, murdered the husband of the former, cut off his head, and threw it into a dock near the Horseferry, Westminster. The head was in a few days found, and exposed on a pole in St. Margaret’s Church-yard, and afterwards preserved in spirits, by which means the face of the deceased was identified, and the perpetrators of the crime discovered, for which they were executed at Tyburn in the year 1726. EXAMINATION OF THE SKELETON.