Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-10-13
Modern Bullet Wounds


Surgeons Easily Deceived.
Much has been written and direct charges made
about the use OF the dum-dum bullet in the present
war In Europe and descriptions have been printed
Of the terrible wounds they make. But the fact j.
overlooked that the modern smaller caliber. high
velocity bullet will, under conditions that are not
fully understood, produce wounds that ex-
perienced surgeon might easily mistake for the work
Of a dum-durn This Is explained In a recent issue
Of the Scientific American which gives the following
pertinent facts:
Under many conditions when the high-speed. small
csliber bullet used IN modern rifles strikes man, IT
makes exceedingly small puncture. and passes
through both bone and tissue alike. with trning in
jury Although the man Is incapactated for the time
being, he suffers permanent injury This Is what
was aimed at when the small caber rifle was adopted
Unfortunately the bullet does not always act in this
way for the so-called 'SptE'' bullet which has been
introduced in Germany and adopted by several other
countries behaves in most uncertain manner Being
quite short and conical and with gradual taper, the
center OF gravity is thrown back the base. Con
ssquenty. 1t ia liable to be disturbed in its flight
when turns sideways Instead OF making the small.
ceancu pcrforaton expected it tears its through
the tissues making terrible lacerated wound very
similar to that which would be produced by dumdum
Effect of vibrations.
Another kind OF wound which Is not infreauent s the
ono that appears TO have been made by explosive
bullet but only another effect Of the high velocity
bullet which Is well known but probably not thor
ouughy understood. One explanation is that by itI
tremendous rapid translation both through the gun
barrel ana the air. .he bullet IL set In vibration, and
the effects II will have the tissue Of the human
pacity OF the tissues take up and transmit the vi
bration wave motion This be better understood
from an experiment made in studying the subject,
tomato can filled with water and the bullet fired
through g. The entrance hole small and almost
~ by punch and the edges but slightly
inverted while the exit hole was an inch and one-half
aud very Irregular. Moreover, the front end
badly bugsd out, the end torn nearly loose.
and the sides partially collapsed, The indications
were that the pressure or forces acted after the
bullet had passed through the can and as vibra-
ton would act.
Many wounds OF the character above noted have
been observed in the past and Il is evident that the
apparently small and humanitarian bullet, almost
universally used IN warfare, has not only largely
failed In Its object but has been the cause Of decided
but unmerited suspicion in several quarters
what IL the DumdumF
During the Chitral campaign in India in 1895, the
native troopg found that the nickejacketed lead bull
| lsta they we're USING not effective they
wished that is they did not stop" their man. They
found the difficulty could be overcome by partially
stripping off the nickel jacket and exposing the eaden
| head. These bullets because they came from the
| Dumdum ammunition works at Calcutta, known
"dumdums." They became greatly distorted when
striking soft body spreading out into something
| like mushroom shape. producing serious wound.
| This is the true dumdum bullet. It Will be appre-
ciated that in the Indian campaign the bullet can
be easily prepared by soldier individually without
| the knowledge OF his superiors and II such bullets
have been used in the present this is their I'M
| doubted source,
! The various bullets used by armies of civilized
nations admit OF being grouped in three classes,
ports the Medical Record One of these classes OF
projectles Is called the reduced caliber, jacketed
| bullet The second class includes the leaden balls
in shrapnel and the blunt-nosed bullet formerly In
In the British army and subsequently used by the
Servians To the third class belong the expanding
bullets the soft nosed bullet and the dumdum bullet
Some authorities speak of the first class az tho
/ pointed bullet. 1t has less stopping power than
| the other two. The greater part OF the nations OF
1 the world the ogvAl bullet, pointed bullet
| whose tip forms obtuse angle like arch.
The bullets In use, the ogival and this
| bunt-nosed, have a rotary and wabbling motion. On
! impact they produce wound like that made by the
blow of hammer. This effect seems to be observed
gyroscopc steadiness due to rotation is lost the
| bullet may even turn its axis and produce ex-
plosive effects Lateral impact seems the only ex-
! PLANTATION OF these explosive effects.
| The unstable japanese bullet. unstable because II
is the highest smallest in use makes at 500 to
1000 yards perforatons which large with explosive
exits and in the soft viscera wide track showing
a great deal OF laceraton. These effects are prob
ably the result OF the bullets course, which is q
tangent to of the trajectory Before takes
! curve, at very short ranges, II has effects less
severe here its stopping power is less In this
respect It is much inferior to the blunnosed bullet
The action both these types of modern bullets on
| the human body would at first sight seem TO be the
| same but careful inspection OF wounds during the
| Balkan war shows that wounds caused by the
shArp-nosed German and Turkish bullet the
| whole more favorable for speedy healing than those
caused by the blunt-nosed servian bullet.