Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-06-28
VOLUME XIII, NO. Is

injured the sufferer will probably bleed to death
unless aid be afforded, by making compression
above, and Oh the bleeding part A long, bu
not broad stone, tied sharply on with hsnket
chief will often suffice until assistance can l.
obtained when both ends of the divided o
wounded artery are to be secured by ligatures.
% The upper end Of the great artery of thl
thigh bleeds scarlet blood, the lower end daTl
venOus-cOlOred blood and this is not departed
from in 3 case Of accidental injury unless there
have been previous disease IN the limb.
knowledge Of this fact or circumstance, which
continues for several days, wiz prevent mis-.
take at the moment Of injury, aud at a subse-
| qUent period, if secondary LRm0rrhage should
occur. In the upper extremity both ends Of the
principal artery bleed scarlet blood, from the
free collateral circulation, and from the snasto-
moses in the hand.
| 81. From this cause, notification rarely takes
place after wound Of the principal artery Of the
arm, or even of the arm-pit
| 1t frequently follows g wound Of the principal
artery III the uudeT, middle, or even lower parts
OF the thigh, rendering smputatOn necessary.
p. IL is great question, when the bone is
uniI JuTed, where and what part the ampuiafiOn
should be performed. Notification Of the foot
and leg, from such a wound, is disposed to stop
a little below the knee If it should not destroy
the sufferer and the operation, ii done in the
appearance CT the foot is observed, should be
done at that part; the wound Of the artery, and
the operation for securing the vessel above and
below the wound, being left Unhee5ed. BY this
proceeding, when successful, the knee-jOint is
saved while an ampUtatiOn above the middle Of
the thigh is always doubtful in its result
%. When modification has taken place from
any cause, and has been arrested below the
knee, and the dead parts show some sigH fleO-
rat fTor1 ia al 80, -a.a1 IL
BY not doing it, but By gradually separating and
removing the dead parts, under the use Of disiu-
tecting indictments and fresh ais, a good stump
may be ultimately made the knee-joint and life
being preserved, which latter is frequently lost
after amputsting under such circumstances.
D. Hospital gangrene, when it unfortunately
occurs, should be considered to be contagious
and infectious, and is 10 be treated locally By
destructive remedies, such as nitric acid, and the
biYouacing or encamPing of the remainder Of the
wound, if it can be effected, or their removal to /
the open air.
80. POultices have been veYy often applied in
gun-shOt wounds, from lsziness, or to cover neg
lect, and should be used as seldom as possible
81. Chlorotorm may be administered in all
cases Of smputstiOu Of the upper extremity and
below the knee, and in all minor operations
which cases may also be deferred, without dis
advantage, until the more serious operations are
ptIlulLu6u.
b. AmPutatiOn Of the upper and middle |
parts Of the thigh are to be done as soon as pos
siple after the receipt Of the injury. The ad- /
ministration Of chloTofOrm in them, when there /
is much prOstTa.ion, is doubtful, and must be /
attended 70, and observed with great care. The |
question whether it should not be administered |
in such cases being undecided.
"A. If the young surgeon should not feel |
quite equal to the ready performance of the va /
riOus operations recommended, many of them |
requiring great anatomical knowledge aud man |
ual dexterity (and it is not to be expected that /
he shOuld), he sh uld avail himself of every op-
Portunity which msy offer of perfecting his !
knowledge.
The surgery of the British army should be at /
the hight Of the surgery of the metropolis, and l
the medical officers Of that service should recol-
lect, that the elevation at which It has arrived |
has been on many points principally due to the /
labOrs OF their predecessors, during the war in /
the Peninsula. Ii is expected, theR, that they /
viii not only correct sny errors into which then |
predecessors may have fallen, but excel them by /
the additions theirOppertunities viii permit thsm |
to make in the improvement Of the great art and |
science of surgery = London Lancet for June