The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-08-05

amount of lnisn nation Inevitable, and the Iodx.
nent Of any foreign substance determines the
amount and intensity OF this to be great and haz-
ardous Further, foreign substances penetrating
deeply, are not unlikely to interfere with the most
important portions Of the organ at its lower and
posterior part producing DEATH either instantly or
at some protracted period, by direct interference
with the ordinary functions of the body. Hemorr-
hage is seldom great unless a large artery be d.
recty implicated. In many instances but little
blood may be seen externally while fatal hemorr-
hage is advancing in the interior.
The pain Of a mere flesh wound is often slight;
the patient, if actively engaged, may hardly be
aware that nc has sustained any injury If bore
be broken, or large nerve torn, however, pain is
usually very severe, and demands immediate attsn-
uon' The course OF bullets is at all time uncertain
very slight obstacle sufices to cause diversion
from the recuiihear direction, as evidenced by the
reboundmg ofround shot from water. Its course was
devious in this instance, will hereafter be shown.
The aperture of exit may be found very close to
that Of entrance; and yet the bullet may have
nearly completed the circuit of the body. The
nature of the wound depends on the distance at
which the shot has been fred on The nature Of tho
foreign body, and on the force with which il has
J Come. Leaden pellets and bullets unatartd from
their smooth rounded form, may lodge il feshy
| part without creating much disturbance. Lead is
not poisonous to the system unless it undergOes
oxydation and chemical change, which is only the
result Of its combining with the acids of the sys-
] tenn.
II is proved by the following cases that the brain
may sustain the most severe injuries and yet re-
covery take place. DR.. Eve, in "a Collection of
Remarkable cases in Surgery" records instances
of recovery even after the most extensive disc
| the brain had taken place.
A case is mentioned of young man who. whine
s,.smping rock in the slate quarries of England,
allow.,1 the powder suddenly to ignite. aud the
blast went sdrect to his face Both eyeballs were
shattered to pieces. the scalp of the forehead was
terribly lac Grated and small hole in the forehead
communicated directly with the brain. The sur
geon who attended the case sags:-"Being aux
ious to know If the brain possessed any sensitive
power, tooka grooved director and passed ii in
direct line until it touched the os occipiGs oppo-
site" Gone of the bones forming the back part Of
the head). He then turned it round into different
parts. The young man was quite conscious during
this time, and assured him that lie felt no pain and
it was only at the hole upon the withdrawal of the
instrument, that he felt any sensation whatever.
| The young man got well without any unfavorable
| symptoms His mind remained perfect, and his
faculties were not the least impaired. His neigh
bors stated that he was sensible, shrewd fellow,
good singer and remarkable for his memory.
In the american Journal ofthe Medical Sciences,
1887, very interesting is recorded of child
about two years of age, fat and healthy, who fell
from the upper story of house and struck its head
with great violence upon one of the sharpened
extremities of an old fashioned round post rush
bottomed chair piercing the chids skull and brain
to the extent of about one and a-half inches. The
substance of the brain was very much broken in
upon. portion Of it was found adhering to the
chair post, and other portions were seen protrud
ing from the wound. The child recovered in due
time and remained in good condition, without any
impairment whatever of its intellectual or other
faculties.
The most extraordinary case on record was re
ported by DR.. Harlow, for the Boston Medical and
Surgical Journal, in 1850. 1t was the case Of an
intelligent man, about twenty-five years of age, who
according to his own statemenD was charging
with powder hole drilled in rock for the purpose
of blasting. 1t is customary in filing the hole tc
cover the powder with sand. The charge was
adjusted, and directing his assistant to pour in the
sand-his head being averted at the time-he drop
ped the head of the iron to consolidate, or "tamp
it in" as it is usually termed. The assist
ant failed to obey the order, and the iron
striking fire upon the rock, the uncovered
Powder isnitad. and tho consequence
was an explosion. The bar of iron was projected
upwards, passing completely through his head and
high into the air; it was picked up at distance o.
some rods from the patient, smeared with brains
and blood.
The attending surgeon scarcely believed tho
fact of the iron having passed through. The
wound Of the cheek was very much stretched Ia.
teraly, and was discolored by powder and iron
rust, OR at least appeared 80. The patient Der
sisted in saying that the bar went through his head
An lrshman standing by said, "Sure it was so, sir
for the bar is lying in the road below all blood and
brains" The man also said he would have brought
it with him, but he thought there would be an in.
quest, and it would not do.
From this extraordinary wound the patient on;te
recovered his faculties of mind and body, with the
loss only of the sight Of the injured eye
The iron which thus traversed the skull weighed
thirteen and quarter pounds. 1t was three feet
seven inches in length, and one and quarter
inches in diameter.
remarkable instance Of the preservation of life
by the materials with which the ball comes in con.
tact happened at Waterloo. colonel of artil
tiery was wounded in the breast; the most
careful probing failed to discover the ball. He /.
recovered. Subsequently the ban was found
lodged in prolongation of the leather sword belt
worn across the breast, which it had carried into
the wound like the finger of glove, and of course
was removed when the wounded officer was un.
dressed.
The case of the late VIM. Poole, whose death was
caused from pistol shot wound, and which
created so much excitement at the time, served to
illustrate the freaks which nature sometimes in,
dulges in. The ball passed into and was lodged in
the substance Of the heart between the ventricles
no symptoms arose to indicate its presence in tina,
delicate and hollow organ, and the whole nhe.
nomena were remarkable and singular.