An important question here arises. Have the wounds found on the body been produced during life or after death? The answer is beset with difficulties, and considerable caution will be necessary, but tables will be given under the different kinds of wounds to assist the diagnosis. Signs of vital reaction are important, as showing the _ante-mortem_ infliction of the wound; but these may, to some extent, be removed by the action of water, as in cases where the body is found in a pond. Under these circumstances the evident signs of drowning--water in the stomach, &c.--will assist the diagnosis. The presence of putrefaction also greatly obscures the diagnosis. The presence of coagulated blood between the edges of the wound is not a trustworthy indication of the _ante-mortem_ infliction of the wound, as experiment has shown that as long as the body remains warm coagulation may take place. Coagulation even in contused wounds, effected before death, may be retarded from various unknown causes--disease, _e.g._ scurvy; mode of death, _e.g._ asphyxia. The amount of hæmorrhage on or around the body is, other things being equal, a safe criterion as to the time when the wound was inflicted; if in considerable amount, arterial blood points to _ante-mortem_ injury; the presence of venous points blood to _post-mortem_ injury. Care should be taken to record and photograph the body in position where found, and its relation to surrounding objects. Careful note should be made of the surroundings and the character and presence of any blood-stains, footprints, &c. The question may have to be considered as to whether the body is in the place it was when the wounds were inflicted. Blood in any quantity in one place, and the body found in another so seriously injured that locomotion would be impossible, point to the body having been removed. Signs of a struggle, if any, should be recorded. If a weapon be found near to the body, its position should be noted, and if in the hand, the firmness of the grasp--cadaveric spasm--should be recorded. All clothing should be carefully examined, and the relation of cuts and body wounds noted. All blood-stains on the clothing should be examined and described. Multiple bullet wounds denote homicide, but suicides have been known to inflict more than one wound. It is strong evidence of suicide if the gun or pistol has burst by the explosion, as suicides have a predilection for overloading the weapon employed. PRETENDED ASSAULT How may wounds, alleged to have been the result of an assault, be shown to have been self-inflicted? This has to be done by considering: (1) The character of the wounds: in these cases they are generally slight, and may consist in a series of small, superficial wounds.