contracts. In the civil law this term is used to signify the injury suffered. Fr. Damage; Injury; detriment. Kelham. A term of the Scotch law. In the civil law. The injury suffered by one who does not receive a full equivalent for what he gives in a commutative contract Civil Code La. art. 1860. Inequality in contracts. Poth. Obi., no. 33. In medical jurisprudence. Any change in the structure of an organ due to injury or disease, whether apparent or diagnosed as the cause of a functional irregularity or disturbance