Daily Republican., 1881-07-08
THE PRTSJ, yT's WOUND.
How tho BAs 9 Nay Leave the
,lbAAy.

l
Dr.. Frank H Hamilton, Of New
York, speaking IL It evening Ofthe diff
Guilty Of forming an opinion In the Pres
idsnt's case, said:
"We donot knowawhere xrs8 ball Is.
The testimony in the case isl very con,
hicting. One of the physicians put his
finger in tho wound and he says he felt
the liver"
Can % person distinguish the liver
from ordinary flesh by a tonch?'
THAT is one of the questions. think
I could. Another physician introduc.
cd a probe, and he says he also dlscOv-
cred that the bullet had penetrated the
liver. Yet in this case the probe may
have entered the abdominal cavity. 1t
is declared that the bullet went forward
and downward, having entered four
inches to the right of the spine. In this
case it might have penetrated the liver,
but how could 1t cause the pains in the
legs and feet? In order to account for
these pains we have to conclude that
the ball has irritated a ganglionic CEN
tire of the sympathetic nerves, which
irritation might be communicated to
the nerves in the spine, and through
them cause q sensation of pain in the
legs and feet. This is possible. 1t
could happen, and, taking all the testi-
many in the case, we are forced to con.
slider very seriously this view Of the
case.
"On the ether hand, if the bullet has
injured the liver it is strange that the
symptoms in the case up to this time
have been 80 slight. Before this time
his face should have been jaundice-col-
ored. The inference from the symptoms
is that the liver has not been att tftcted.
Yet the testimony is strong that it has
been.
"The bullet may have passed inward
and to the left. 1t is possible tor IL ball
having penetrated to the lining OF the
abdominal cavity to follow it in a curv-
ed line half way around the body. In
this case it might injure the spine as it
passed it in a way to i1ritate the nerves,
and thus we should naturally get the
pains in the feet. Secretary Blaine
thinks that the assailant stood to the
right of the President, so that the ball
would naturally take direction toward
the spine, but Mr.. Blaine is not sire
about the position. A very little thing
will turn the direction of a bullet.
"The treatment of the President has
been judicious, think, in every par:ic.
ular. There are two simple principles
easily learned in the treatment of gun.
shot wounds in this part of the body.
Keep the patient still, and give him as
little food as possible. Amy motion OF
the flesh near the bullet causes irritation
and if it lies near the intestines the
motion caused by the passage OF food is
likely to add to the danger.
81 regard the lapse OF all this time
without the occurrence of marked
symptoms as highly favorable. The
bullet is by this time surrounded with
material deposited about it, ard the
likelihood of dangerous inflammation is
greatly lessened. When bullet is
surrounded in a sac it tends by law
of nature either outward to the surface
of the body or inward. The sac which
contains it may work inward and at
tach itself to q part of the intestinal
tube. In that case an Opeulng may
open between the sac or abcesS and the
intestine, through which the matter
contained in it, as well as the bullet
may be discharged. Then the bulle
, you'd pass out q the body in the nat
nral way. This would cause no fata
inflammation, and the contents Of thu
intestinal tube would not escape int
the abcess, or if they did it would make
no difference, because they would bt
discharged back into it Ifthe abcess
works outward toward the surface
then it may safely be cut into and the
bullet may he taken out. The cutting
into the abcess would be by no means
cutting into the abdominal cavity, be-
cause the abcess would then be attached
to the outer wall of the cavity"
The report of a person who had killed
deer and had found bullet safely ell
cysted in its liver and the liver in 4
normal condition was mentioned to DR.
Hamilton. He said it was interesting
if true, and that the report ought tt
be verified. He, however, had heard
of one case where u bullet had lodged
in mans liver, and yet the man had
recovered.