Plate 135.
Shrapnel—Plate 135.
LOWER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Wound of the Left Leg,
with Lodgment of the Missile.
The posterior surface of the leg lay next to the plate, as shown by the outline of the head of the fibula, but any estimate of distance from the plate, based on depth of the shadows, is of little value because there is no contrast between localizing-wire shadows in front of and behind the leg.
The slightly enlarged shadow of the ball indicates it to be farther from the plate than it would be if it lay behind the fibula. As the shadows of the metal fragments on the tibia are not sharp enough to indicate their position to be near the plate, the ball has lodged anteriorly between the tibia and fibula after ricocheting from the anterior surface of the tibia. The ball, being undeformed, struck the tibia with so little force that it barely penetrated the skin.
The reaction of infection in such wounds makes a diagnosis on physical examination difficult and indicates radiography.
Plate 136.
