Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1859-08-11
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The Case Of Virginia Stewart.

AUD OASEoi E1S'5 GiO'
The following interesting article We
copy from the N. Y. Herald ofFriday last.
The case of the unfortunate Virginia
Stewart, whose death took place yester-
day morning about 4 O'Clock, from a pis-
toll wound, inflicted by her late paramour,
of which a full account and the accompa-
Inying details were given at the time OF
the occurrence, certainly presents some
very curious features, of which the re.
markable p~rolongation of life, under the
circumstances, is not the least interest
ing.
The result of the post norton exami-
| nation discovered the ball lodged in the
brain on the opposite side from which it
entered. The peculiar features connect
ed with this case, and the interest the
multitude appear TO have taken in every
little fact connected with its progress,
induce US to lay before our readers some
interesting and instructive facts relative
to gun shot wounds.
In wounds of this kind-where death
does not Immediately ensue-the great
danger arises from the inflammation, re-
sulting from the injury done to the parts
by the passage of the ball and the mater
ials carried with it, such as the wadding,
fragments Of bone, &c, and seeondarily
from the irritation produced by the pres
ence OF these foreign substances. The
living skin is so elastic that the entrance
aperture. generally presents the appear
ance of being smaller than the ball. fla
ball pass through a dress composed of
some elastic material, the hole made in
the dress is invariably smaller than that
made in the skin. The appearance pre-
sented by a wound made by a rife ball
| are different from those made by a COM
mon musket. The former requires a
rotatory motion from the spiral groove
made in the barrel, producing a ragged
hole larger than the ball itself.
The chances of wounds of this nature
proving fatal are grave and imminent by
| the ~extravasation of blood in the first in.
stance, by Inflammation and its accom-
lpanying results ~secondarily. The treat.
ment required to be proportionally
| watchful and energetic. Confusion and
laceration of the cerebral tissue and its
investments render a certain amount Of
inflammation inevitable, and the lodgment
| of any foreign substance determines the
| amount and intensity of this to be great
| and hazardous. Further foreign substan-
| ees, penetrating deeply, are not unlikely
| to interfere with the most important por-
| tons 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. Hemorrhage is
| seldom great unless a large artery be d.
rectly implicated. In many instances but
little blood may be seen externally while
a fatal hemorrhage is advancing in the
interior.
The pain of a mere flesh wound is
often slight the patient, if actively en-
gagged, may hardly be aware that he has
sustained any injury. If a bone be brok.
| en-, or a large nerve torn, however, pain
is usually very severe, and demands i'm.
mediate attention. The course of bullets
is at all times uncertain. A very slight
! obstacle ~sufices to cause diversion from
the rectillinear direction, as evidenced
by the %rebounding of round shot from
water. Its course was devious in this
instance as 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 fired, on the nature oil
the foreign body, and on the force with
which it has come Leaden bullets, and
unaltered from their smooth rounded
form, may lodge in a flesh part without
creating much disturbance. Lead is not
poisonous to the system unless it under.
goes oxidation and chemical change,
which is only the result of its combining
with the acids of the system.
1t is proved by the following cases that
the brain may sustain the most severe
injuries and yet recovery take place.
Or. Eye, in "a Collection Of Remarka-1
able cases in Surgery" records instances
Of recovery even after the the most extern.
siye disease of the brain had taken place.
A case is mentioned of a young man
who, while stamping a rock in the slate
quarries of England, allowed the powder
suddenly to ignite, and the blast vent
direct to his face. Both eyebalIs were
shattered to pieces, the scalp of the fore
head was terribly lacerated, and a small
hole in the forehead communicated di,
rectly with the brain. The surgeon who
attended the case says - Being anxious
to know if the brain possessed any sensi-
tive power, / took a grooyed director
and passed it in a direct line until it'll
touched the occipitiis opposite" Zone Of the
bones forming the back part Of the head).
He then turned it round into different
parts, The YOUNG ~wao quite con-
9vIUus during this time, and assured him
that he felt no pain, andit was only at the
hole, upon the withdrawal of the ~instru.
ment, thathe felt any sensation whatever.
The young man got we'll without any
unfavoraole symptoms. His mind remain.
ed perfect, and his facilities were not the
least impaired. His neighbors stated
that he was a sensible, shrewd fellow. a
good singer, and remarkable for his mem.
DRY.
\ In the American Journal of medical
Sciences, 1887, a very interesting case is
recorded of a child about two years Of
age, fat and healthy who fell from the
upper story of a house and struck its
head with great violence upon one of the