Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-03-27
DAILY IIRGINIAN.
Wounds In the Heart

The late case of Poole, the New York brui-cr,
who lived for two weeks with II pistol bnll imbcd
drd III his heart has been thought by many 10
have hoen unparalleled, and by some Is disbc-
hoved ou the strength of the popular notion that
any wound If the henrt i necessarily immediate
" intal. The Louisville Courier. however, has
tnken up the mnttor nj length, and presents
mnny curious and well authenticated eases To
show how erroneous nrethc general notions
prcting wounds OF the heart.
\ physician III MeNnlry county, Tennessee,
DR.. Bondall. reported mnny years ago, the
II negro boy, who w, nd,d IN the chest
with load Of shot. The wound was given on
The 9th Of April and the treatment uf the ease was
skillul aud very iudoOus. II wn- directed to
the relief oi inflammation of The lung aud there
vas no indication thai tho heart was wounded.
The boy seemed 10 reooser gundanlly and slowly
mp 10 the Sfrty strcnfh dnN, when h" died sud
d"uY from o,,r Indulgence III eating he lung
which wounded never performed service af
fer receiving the shot, and thr death was due to
the condition of the lung. IN tracing tie course
oi the wounds, after death, lho phy soians were
astoni,hed ut finding tIrer shot III the bottom Of
the vcntricle. and two shot i'll the bottom of the
nuriolo of the heart. The wounds made in the
substance of the hrnrt We're all firmly healed, mud
the internal surfaces of the cavities, in which the
>hot were found, betrayed no signs of having
sulised in any wny from the presence of the
Sntl Tie ht'N HNtl from lnP ON hl AIlll 10
the llth OF june or SIXTY seven dnys, aud tho
,lcnlh wns due To the lung according 10 the ply
scian~ IN the case, and not To the shot in the
henrt.
In the Dictionarie Medicalc, Stviard mentions
u cn-c ia which thc left vnnClr uf the heart and
the scptnm wall which divided il from the right
Nrutricle we've pierced through. The man lived
ioar or five DAYS. \ clol OF blood undoubtedly
rlused the opening AT once aud prevented hem
tuIInirp. In another the IIpLt NputllClt
pierced aud the victim lived five days. And in
nnnh,r case sword wa- passed through thr
wight sentrclc, the dinphinGm, aud hver, mud
the mnn lived until the ninth day. Morand OK
hlhifrd this hrnr Ia the French Academy of
Science IN l735 NJ, Leucr reports case in
which the left ycntriclc was pierced vertically
and wound four OF five lines rlength wn- mndc.
'lh- victim lived mlll the 1th day. Dcbors,
Rholiu1 aud Fantoni mention cases of wounds.
of the heart thu were not ftal until the 18th,
10Th. Eth and even the 2ulh day,
The heart mny contract systematically nj the
moment the weapon infllct, the damage, AMI thus
clo-e the wound until II eliot of blood forms aud
prevents hcmurrhn4e. Ambrose Pare, the great
French surgeon. gives remarkable case, evi-
dcnlly of this kind. And on>c reported by
Sch NIX, OF n student Of lngol,tadt, was certainly
ot this character
But probably The mos, extraordinary case Of n
gnnshoi wound N tin heart, occurred in Cincn.
natl in 1888. \ br. Sialmon, reported the case
IN tho Western journal of Medicine and Of the
Physical sciences. On tin ~ 1t If December
man named Maguire was shot IN the chest with IA
bail weighing Il 10 the pound. After being
wounded he chased hi, antagonist, with activity,
for several rod nnd then ncCamr talut aud fell
The attention Of the PITY -iclnn~ WIS directed to
the possible occurrence OF Enngr,ne Of the lung
uud The treatment was designed To prevent Tint
result. Their, vas no -gn IL the symptoms of
Il Il,
there ir in all gun shot wounds intense pan in the
girn Of the stomach, an accelerated pulse, with
II leiry jerk 1n the second dny, hut there waS no
dl7tm bance of the respiration until the tourH
dly The mnn died ON the fifth day. or ninety
seven hours mter the wound The examination
after death revealed remarkable stnte of things
in the hedft. About two nnd II half inches from
it, apex there was the appearance Of heated
woand. 1t wns not, If co0rsc firm, for II bunt
poiutcd probe pissed through this hraling mate
rial into the right yrniriclr uf the heart. The
internal suffice of the yentricie exhibited lace-
rnt.d wound, but truce Of the boil could he
found. ! he nuricle was not wounded. nnd great
my tcry prevailed over the lo-t trace Of the ball
Tn ascending vein, which pous into The night
auriclr all the ascending blond from the luwer di
visions Of the body md the p -ht vcnlrcle and
nnricie were filled with what il called eongulable
. lymph.
: ne great my story in the casc was the entire
los oi all lrHec Of The bnll. II was not in the
venl.ec into which It had certainly passed nor
there my l,rccptihle wouui of the nar5le
to u',rk it. passage through ii. In this state ol
thia54, the large vein OF which we have spoken
wa ticd, and the heart md that pant Of the vein
wef taken ont mud pl0cod in water While
the were undergoing mncefation. the young
man, who attending tu the mdroratlon,
thoaght there wore evidences Of II bruise on whnt
is called the lrca-pid valve. inero = OWL
opening between the right auricc and vPntrcle
which IS oloscd Dy this yhl,c. This discovery
thu. ,rnde by macera:ion gave clue toa search
for the ball. rs il had evidently, by the pro-
jcetl.c torcc Of the powder, passed through the
yont.ec aud into the right aufcle, through the
oval opening, the search for il was mad, IN the
large win Of which we have spokcnns the vessel
which conveys the blood from the lower mem
bors of the body into the right anroe. This
vein is the largest in the human body. The two
vcins from the right and left oxtrcmites unite
together opp psite thu fourth bnnr in what il call
ed the loins, and make this large Yenous trunk.
In thr right one of these two veins the ball was
found.-Bdit 1mer.
The Lion Strength.
The strength of the lion is very great We