Shrapnel—Plate 129.
LOWER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Wound of the Left Knee,
with Lodgment of the Missile in the Joint.
As the fibular shadow is about the normal size and clearly outlined, the fibular side of the leg lay next to the plate.
As the shadow of the ball is dense and not much enlarged, it must lie near the plate. A light shadow in front of the ball, which shows the anterior crucial ligament, and a metallic marking above the patella, suggests the path of the ball.
As this is a lateral projection of the same case that is shown in [plate 128] in an antero-posterior projection, these conclusions are thus verified.
The missile lies in the joint capsule between the head of the tibia, in front of the spine, and the patellar notch of the femur.
As a foreign body in the knee joint which seriously interferes with its function, removal is indicated when surgical facilities are at hand.