Morning journal and courier., 1881-07-08
The Presidents Wound.
4 phvsictnu,s views as to the Location

the Ball-ProbabIy Not in the Liver.
 physician of extensive practice, for many years one of the professors in the med icaI school at Oakland, Cal, who has recent 1y returned to the East, and is now connected with one of the large medical schools of New England, was in Hartford yesterday, and in speaking of the condition of the President, said that, as far as could be judged from the newspaper accounts he had seen, it was by no means certain that the ball had entered the liver.
 q have known' he said, "so many re- markable cases of balls being turned almost at right angle by thin fascia, which 1t would seem could offer little resistance, that taking into account this fact and the degree of constitutional disturbance reported, which is much less than would be looked for if the ball were in the liver or had passed through it, the suggestion that it has taken some other course makes strong impression on me-" stIs it common for balls to be diverted from their course in this way?" every common Sometimes the dehection is inconsiderable and sometimes it is marvel ous. There is one most striking case on rec ord in which a man was struck with bullet on the thyroid cartilage (Adam's apple). There was no perforation of the cartilage, and the bullet was not found, which led to the notion that it was 8 spent ball. In due course however, line developed around the mans throat and it was found that the ball had passed entirely round under the skin."
 ''If the ball did not perforate the liver, where would it be apt to go?"
 'sThat is impossible to say. It may have glanced of among some of the thick muscles where it will never do any harm, or have gone somewhere in the abdominal cavity where it may lie in the same way, becoming encysted in either case, or it may have lodged.in some place from which 1t must ul- timately be removed"
 'tThen the ball may rest somewhere in the abdominal cavity without producing danger ous results ?"
 ''It may, though it would more probably have caused peritonitis before this time" ''If it is in the liver now 1t must be re- moved sooner or later ?"
 'Yes but it would have been unwise to at tempt anything of that sort during the early stages"
 SOn the whole the Presidents condition seems favorable? ?"
 'sIn my judgment the accounts have been | favorable all along. Disregarding the mere l rumors and private despatches, and taking l only the official bulletins the case shows as | have said much less constitutional dis 1 turbance than would naturally attend such an l injury as has been most commonly spoken 1 of have great hopes of favorable issue. | The fact is that the indications, especially
 the very slight degree of constitutional dis
 turbance throughout have been decidedly
 against the perforation of the liver or any
 vital organ"
 Two eminent New Haven physicians are il
 accordance with the view that in the Presi
 dents case the liver has not been lacerated
 but that danger is to be apprehended iron
 suppuration and an abscess.
 As to normal respiration an eminent physi
 clan in this city says that the late Dr. Charles
 Hooker, who made this subject study ant
 regarded it highly important feature in as
 certaining the diagnosis of case, held 1s1
 to be the number of respirations in health.