The caul is a fragment of amniotic membrane that is occasionally observed adherent to the head and face of a newborn child. A dried caul has been in The University of Adelaide Pathology Archive for a number of years. Beliefs in the supernatural powers of these detached membranes are found in the historical traditions of a wide variety of cultures, resulting in cauls being regularly dried out and sold as talismans. It was thought that lawyers could sway opinions in court more readily if they possessed a caul, and that such a token could either be used to facilitate black magic rituals or alternatively to thwart the machinations of sorcerers and witches. A pervasive belief was that a caul would guarantee that the owner would never drown resulting in cauls being sold for between ₤10 to ₤30 in the seventeenth century at a time when considerable naval warfare and maritime exploration were occurring. Thus, rather than illuminating pathophysiological processes occasional specimens in pathology archives may remind us of folk traditions and superstitions that have long since been forgotten in modern times.

胎膜是羊膜的碎片，偶尔会观察到粘附在新生儿的头部和面部。阿德莱德大学病理学档案馆多年来一直保存着一块干燥的花椰菜。在各种文化的历史传统中都可以找到对这些分离膜的超自然力量的信仰，导致细胞膜经常被晒干并作为护身符出售。人们认为，如果律师拥有公证，他们就可以更容易地在法庭上影响意见，这样的令牌既可以用来促进黑魔法仪式，也可以用来挫败巫师和女巫的阴谋。一种普遍的信念是，在 17 世纪，海战和海上探险正在发生的时候，caul 可以保证所有者永远不会淹死，导致 caul 的售价在 ₤10 到 ₤30 之间。因此，病理档案中的偶然标本可能会提醒我们在现代早已被遗忘的民间传统和迷信，而不是阐明病理生理过程。