“ARTICLE 9.--The verification of the decease of still-born or of newly-born infants shall exact a most attentive examination on the part of the examining doctors. They shall indicate in their report if the infant has died before, during, or after birth; and, in the last case, how long it lived after birth.” “ARTICLE 10.--If they doubt the reality of the death, they shall employ, without delay, every means of recovery that science suggests under the circumstances. They shall immediately notify the visiting doctor, and, in every case, shall prepare the _procès-verbal_ of the verification of death only after certainty has been established, and, if need be, by repeated visits.” “ARTICLE 11.--When a woman has died in a state of advanced pregnancy, they shall direct the artificial extraction of the infant, supposed to be yet living; and, in the lack of an attending doctor, shall perform it themselves when necessary.” EXAMINATION AND CERTIFICATION OF THE DEAD IN WÜRTEMBURG. A Royal Decree, entitled “Dienst-Vorschriften für Leichenhaüser,” for the inspection and burial of the dead, promulgated by the King of Würtemburg, January 24, 1884, provides for the appointment of medical inspectors of the highest integrity and qualifications in every commune, the position being justly regarded as one of great responsibility. Immediately after a death, the body must under no circumstances be interfered with, and must not be removed from the death-bed until after the authorised inspection. _Post-mortems_ can be made only if the fact of death has been previously clearly established. Precise instructions are laid down, so that the inspector, who is to examine the entire body, may see that the various forms of suspended animation are not certified as actual death. Amongst these are the following:-- “Section ii.--To see that sensibility, pulsation of the heart, neck, temples, and forearm, and the breath, have ceased. That the muscles of the body have lost their elasticity; therefore the limbs are limp, the face sunken, the nose pinched, the eyes sunken, and, when the eyelids are forcibly opened, they remain so, the lower jaw drops more or less, and drops again when pressed upwards. “In actual death the body gradually gets colder, beginning with the exposed limbs, and in from ten to sixteen hours the body will be quite cold. The colour of the face becomes ashy pale, and the lips discoloured. The eye loses its brilliancy, and is usually dulled by a covering of dried mucus. “If all the foregoing symptoms are exhibited, and particularly if the deceased was of an advanced age, or if the death was caused by severe or long illness, which led to the expectation of a fatal result, the fact of death may be safely assumed.