Plate 130.
Shrapnel—Plate 130.
LOWER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Wound of the Left Knee,
with Lodgment of the Missile in the Joint.
The line of projection of the shadow is directed obliquely from behind, focussed on the internal aspect of the knee, with the fibula next to the plate. As the shadow of the shrapnel ball is much enlarged and not very dense, the ball must lie some distance from the plate and away from the fibular side of the joint. As the distances through the knee joint are about the same in all cases and as shrapnel balls are approximately the same size, it is evident that the ball lies farther away from the plate than it does in [plate 129], where it is about the middle of a transverse line through the joint. It must lie, therefore, superficially between the head of the tibia and the internal condyle of the femur.
Removal is indicated under favorable surgical conditions. Infection of the joint may occasionally indicate drainage and removal as emergency treatment.
Results, except for infection, are good.
Plate 131.
