Rifle—Plate 30.
UPPER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Fracture of the Lower End of the Radius.
The course of the missile was diagonally transverse, striking the radius in its lower third.
The projectile in this case is unknown, as it might have been either a shrapnel ball or a deformed rifle bullet with a torn jacket, exposing the lead core and marking its course with small particles of lead.
The fissures in the lower fragment and the finer fragmentation at the seat of impact, indicate a great striking energy, that more often resides in the high velocity of a rifle bullet than the low velocity of a shrapnel ball. The wound is therefore classified with rifle wounds.
The treatment is conservative. The course in such cases, without infection, is very favorable, and not unfavorable even with infection.
Plate 31.
