The Washington herald., 1912-10-16
No Great Danger
OF Blood Poisoning

New York, Oct. ELF the ballet AZ
not sink beyond the muscles Of the chest
~ indicated By the bulletins, there q
not one chance in . thousand that It VII
prove fatal With the skillful Treatment
charge Of the patient he without doub,
wiz recover. The Presidents who werl
assassinated-LAncoln, 0arneld. and Nc
Kiniey-wers shot in vital spots"
This statement was made tonight b.
Dr. Edward wallace Lee. ono Of the
surgeons who attended President Nc
Kinley after he was shot down b.
Csolgox In Buffalo In 1901. =,
In contrasting the cases Of Mckinley
and Roosevelt SIN further. Dr.. Lee said:
Mckinley was shot in two places.
The first bullet struck the lrd rib two
inches to the right Of the median line.
but glanced on without penetrating the
bone. II was . wound somewhat dmi.
lar to- that from which Mr.. Roosevelt
10 suffering. and was not regarded ~
dangerous.
Roesevelt's Close Call.
"The second bullet was the one which
killed Mckinley. 1t penetrated the
abdomen five inches below the left nipple
and one and one-half inches to the left
Of the median line and passed through
the stomach. Had Roosevelt been struck
. little lower and the bullet taken q
downward course instead Of an upward
course. II doubtless would have meant
his death.
Judging from the bulletins Of Drn
Murphy. Bevan. Terrill. and Sayior. all
Of whom are surgeons Of the highest
standing. the bullet entered near the right
nipple, plowed through the skin. the
layer Of fat beneath. which in man like
Roosevelt might be more than an inch
thick. the facia. or muscular membrane,
and the major and minor pectoral mus.
cIeA
Beneath the pectora or chest muscles
in the region where Roosevelt was
wounded. tier and layers Of fascia mem-
envelops the ribs.
, .'Ar. Roosevelt 10 said to have . tre-
mendous development Of the chest mus
cles, and accordingly they may be from
two to three inches thick. The normal
thickness u about an inch. II the wound
is only four inches long and standing up
ward. there would be enough thickness Of
fat and muscle to stin leave the bullet
some little distance from the lungs.
VIII Eject Respiration.
THE muscles OF the chest are con.
stantly working while we breathe. and
this wound will more or
less affect Mr.. Roosevelt's respiration.
The chest or pectoraI muscles are con.
nected with the arms. and they are
brought into active play whenever we
move our arms. especially in the acts
Of striking Or pulling. or in gestures
while speaking.
when Mr. Roosevelt spoke for more
h kH,, BS~ hA q
chest muscles connected with his right
arm to q violent degree. This would
have a tendency to inhame the wound
and force the bullet still deeper. New
ertheless. do not believe that this ex-
ertion viii seriously atSrAvate the In
Jury or make recovery less certain.
Men have recovered who were injured
more seriously and walked around for |
hours afterward. So long ~ the vital
parts are not affected no serious COM
olications are to be expected except !
.etanus or sepsis.
with the high degree Of care as |
'ured Mr.. Roosevelt by the attendance |
II such eminent surgeons rs Drs. Nur-
,hy. Bevan, Terrill. and Saylor. there 10 |
title danger from blood poisoning The |
operation. II not to remove the bullet. |
will be for the purpose OF enlarging the |
SO that It can be thoroughly |
he purpose OF offsettinE the absorption |
~ the blood Of any pathological germs |
hat would produce sepsis.
safer to Leave Bullet Ia.
I'm q wound like the one In Mr..
chest. the safer way wouldf
,e to dress the wound properly and
cave the bullet where II is. Such q
course is oftentimes better than tear
ng Q man open. The bullet soon be-
,omss encysted and non-irritating. There
. no danger Of blood poisoning from the
,ullet itself.
"Bits OF clothing carried into q wound
" the bullet frequently cause sepsis. II
Unattended to. They are dangerous II
,een blown into the fabric from the
treet. They also prevent the proper
lrainage Of Q wound. A foul gun 10 not Il
|erstand that the gun which shot Mr.
Roosevelt was foul, and fear Of blood
is expressed on this account
ct me say that foul gun would not
roduce sepsis. The worst that might
esult would be q temporary infiamma-
lon Of the wound. L.
Necessarily. Mr.. Roosevelt should
AXE things very easy for q time. Until ID
he wound II healed, he should not use A,
IL right arm or exercise the chest mus (
les In any other way. IL
'.Roosevelt's unusually good physical I
ondition is one Of the strongest factors {
1 his recovery. In this he offers q II
reat contrast to President Mckinley, Il
hose resisting powers were very low.