Shrapnel—Plate 131.
LOWER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Wound of the Knee,
with Lodgment of the Missile.
That the knee is not fully extended is shown by the exaggerated outline of the tibial head.
The enlarged and only fair density of the shadow indicates that the shrapnel ball lies some distance away from the plate. As the bone is not injured, the missile must lie either in front of or behind the femur, and its enlarged shadow shows the position to be in front of the femur, just above the articular surface, and probably within the reflection of the capsular ligament.
A comparison with the size of the shadows of the balls shown in plates [128] and [130] will show this one to be greater than the former and less than the latter, and so it must bear about the same relation in the distance from the plate. This would account for the location in front instead of behind the femur.
The treatment is conservative, and removal is indicated when function is disturbed.
Plate 132.
