A Characterization of Medial as Rewriting Rule

Medial is an inference rule scheme that appears in various deductive systems based on deep inference. In this paper we investigate the properties of medial as rewriting rule independently from logic. We present a graph theoretical criterion for checking whether there exists a medial rewriting path between two formulas. Finally, we return to logic and apply our criterion for giving a combinatorial proof for a decomposition theorem, i.e., proof theoretical statement about syntax.