16. The importance of the external examination, and the particulars to be chiefly attended to in performing it, will vary in different cases with the probable cause of death. It comprehends an examination--(1) Of the position of the body when found, as well as of all external injuries or marks presented by it. (2) Of the vicinity of the body, with a view to discover the objects on which it rested, or from or upon which it may have fallen, marks of a struggle, signs of the presence of a second party about the time of death or after it, weapons or other objects the property or not the property of the deceased, the remains of poisons, marks of vomiting; and where marks of blood are of importance, and doubts may arise as to their really being blood, the articles presenting them must be preserved for further examination. (3) Of the dress, its nature and condition, stains on it of mud, sand, and the like, of blood, of vomit, of acids, or other corrosive substances, marks of injuries, such as rents or incisions; where injuries have been inflicted on the body, care should be taken to compare the relative position of those on the body and those on the clothes; and where stains, apparently from poison, are seen, the stained parts are to be preserved for analysis. (4) Ligatures, their material and kind, as throwing light on the trade of the person who applied them; the possibility, or impossibility, of the deceased having applied them himself; their sufficiency for accomplishing their apparent purpose, &c. 17. The inspectors will commence the examination of the body itself by surveying the external surface and openings. Before cleaning it they will examine it on all sides, not neglecting the back, as is often done, and look for marks of mud, blood, ligatures, injuries, stains from acids, and the like; foreign bodies, or injuries within the natural openings of the body, viz. the mouth, nostrils, ears, anus, vagina, and urethra. If there are impressions of finger marks, they will consider which hand produced them. If there be any doubt about stains being blood, the skin presenting them must be preserved for analysis. If there be acid stains, or other probable remains of poison, or any foreign matter, the nature of which may require to be determined by analysis, these must also be preserved. The ordinary places for the impressions of ligatures are the neck, the wrists, the ankles, and the waist. The degree of warmth of the trunk and extremities, the presence or absence of cadaveric rigidity, and whether it exists equally in the upper or the lower extremities, should be noted in this stage of the proceedings; in other cases the progress of putrefaction, as indicated by the odour of the body, the looseness of the cuticle, the colour of the skin, and formation of dark vesicles on it, the evolution of air in the cellular tissue, the alteration of the features, the softness of the muscles, the shrivelling of the eyes, the looseness of the hair and nails.