[Re-establishing the health of the state: medicine and national regeneration explained through a criminal trial at the turn of the 19th century]

This article aims to show how the discussions of a criminal trial at the turn of the nineteenth century suffice to shed light on the opinions of the Spanish people on the model of society that they wanted. Specifically, one of the principal aims of the essay is to enquire into the ideas that prevailed at that time on the role of science in the organization of society. Analysis of the discussion which came out of the trial helps to highlight the ways in which various factors influenced the development of medicine, in particular forensic medicine. As a result, the article also hopes to contribute to our understanding of how the discourse on criminality has functioned and changed in Spain.