The times., 1898-09-04
DR.. Gray on the Modern Treat
ment of Wounds.
THE VALUE OF THE X-RAYS
An Account of Operations On BOARD
Ship by the Surgeon of the Relief.
The Prcbe Has Hcen Ranished by
the Roentgen Rays-The Unex-
pected MiIdHess of the Injuries.

49, EoNNA dsih NANlN udS DtEA III
appointment. DR.. William NJ. Gray. the
microscopes at the Medical Museum in
Washington, who reached America from
Porto Rico IN the hospital ship Relief.
was detailed by his institution for surgi-
cal work with special reference TO the
diagnosis Of gurshot wounds by the
x-rays. To a New York Sun reporter
he said:
''One thing this war has taught is that
the probe in all its forms has gone out
of use. No more searching bhndly III
mans body for the bullet; no more dam
ger Of blood poisoning from the intro
ductlon into the wourd OF instruments of
search. The iuoroscope tells US instant
Iy where the projectile has imbedded it
seE. and We have only 10 cut II out as
il il were before our eyes. The in
geEdous electric and al similar devices
have seen their day. In all future bat
ties experts in ski3graphy will be attach
ed Of necessity TO the Medical Corps, and
the work Of the surgeons will BE mate
rally assisted by Their precise indica-
tions We took out bullets by the pint
on board the Relief. and most without
exception they were located by the X
rays"
The surgeon exhibited the apparatus for
producing the x-rays and the operating
table where the sziasraphs are made
These stand amidships IN an open space
ranged ir.5ut with hospital cots. DR..
GRAY explained that. excellent as the
results have been 50 far. they will be bet
ter in the fature. since the Relief starts
on her new cruise with much improved
x-r2y appliances. In the developing room
he showed a number Of X-ray plates.
such as were prepared for the rdigeon
gu dance
It seemed that valuable time might be
lost in making these pictures, ana the
doctor was asked about it.
III is ali done in a few maments, he
said: five seconds for q wound II the
hand thirty seconds for one in the foot.
and not over ten or fifteen minutes Tor
a wound through the thick peiy-s. The
patient Is stretched out here. the N-ray
bul5 adjusted over the wound Ike TINS
the 0lafe mt under the limb OF part
where the wound Is. and the Ting Is
done. The p.ates are developed almost
Instantly. In many cases We save hours
OF vain searching; not infrequently We
save the soldiers life"
Then he went on 10 tell OF case "AeIe
a man was wounded in the right shoulder
by a Mauser bullet. which piowed its
way on around the chest walls under the
deem musc!as and lodged IN the left arm,
shatterfng the humerus: Here was an
odd condition, a wound in the right
shoulder, but no bullet; the bone of the
left arm broken, but no wound How
long do YOU suppose il would have taken
10 md that bullet by probing? 1t did not
take US one minute to find it with the
x-rays. Here it is in this picture, you
see 1t there quite plainly"
He handed over d skiagraph that showed
the fractured humerus and the imbedded
bullet, as if the arm were transparent
Il was simply a matter Of few cuts
snd tho bullet was out.
Did the bullet 90 no harm in going
through the body2"
Apparently not; the man made little
complaint and is doing nicely. We have
had more remarkable cases than that Of
MaUssr bullets passing through the body
and doing no harm. One man was shot
through from side TO side. with both lungs
traVersed. but ne had no symptoms. not
even any bleeding. There was just a
small red spot where the bullet went in
and d small red spot where 1t came out
If his leg had not been cracked by an
other saot he would not have been in the
hospital We had two cases on the ship
shot through the intestines, but showing
no symptoms: one case of man shot
through the liver and kidneys. with no
symptoms, and one very remarkable case
where a bullet entered the left chest,
passed through the body and out of the
abdomen, went through the air for foot
or 50 and landed in the right thigh, about
half way to the knee"
Another case which caused some dis
cussion among the surgeons, was that of
a man shot through the breast on the
left side, the bullet entering about a
quarter OF an inch below the nipple, and
.-,n-
shoulder blade. The point of exit showed
that the bullet took an upward course
which made it certain that it passed
very close to the point OF the heart: in
deed, IL is an open question whether II
did not actually pass through the heart
The doctors are agreed that il passed
through the pericardium or covering OF
the heart, and Major George II. Torney,
the surgeon in command of the Relief
Is inclined to believe that the heart itself
was penetrated
IT is conceivable, he said that man
may live as this one did, even If bullet
has gone through his heart We must
suppose that the bullet struck the heart
lust as il was drawn hard together in its
Closest contraction it is very likely that
II the same bullet had come when the
heart was on the other beat. and there
fore distended and softer. it would have
been so torn that death would have en-
sued"
DR.. Gray explained that most of the
operations were performed at night. as
the days were crowded full receiving the
wounded. Even so, we Were not rush
ed" he said. ''On the average we had
: three or four operations each night some.
times as many as six. You see the emer.
gency work was done on the field before
we received the wounded We had plenty
OF time to work carefully"
did you use ether?"
NO; chloroform. II is better on ship
board, as it is not SO infiammabie, and
takes up less space. We had no deaths
from the anaesthetic."
Did you have to operate in bad wealth
erY'
''So, we were fortunate in having a
smooth sea; it would be impossible "a
operate in a storm; the patients would
have 10 walt"
How many nurses have you on board p
"About thirty-ten men and twenty wo-
men We shall have larger proportion
of women nurses on the next cruise" Il
seemed 10 be the general opinion among
the doctors that the wounded can get M
care like that which women give. Blu
the doctors are equally positive in declar
ing women out of place on the field O.
battle They can't stand the horrors o.
it," said Major Torney; they are toe
sensitive"
One of the surprises of the war to tht
surgeons has been the failure of th'
Mauser bullet to do such work of bon'
shattering and general destruction as haC
been prophesied for it. The result o
many experiments made before the wa
had been to satisfy experts that thi!
small bullet with its velocity would d'
more DAMAGE IN the human body thar