LOWER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Wound of the Right Thigh,
with Lodgment of the Bullet Behind the Femur.
There is no injury to the bone. The large diameter, shortened length, and slight density of the shadow show the bullet to be some distance from and inclining toward the plate and lodged in the muscles behind the femur, nearer the side away from the photographic plate. It is difficult to identify the right or left thigh from the radiograph, but with the history of the wound in the right thigh and the outside of the leg next to the plate the ball would lie nearer the inside than the outside of the thigh, nearer the surface behind the femur. As the shadow shows irregular outline and the location of the bullet low velocity, the wound was caused by a ricochet shot at very long range.
The treatment is expectant and the course naturally favorable.
Plate 51.
Rifle—Plate 51.
LOWER EXTREMITY.
Gunshot Wound of the Thigh,
with Lodgment of the Missile.
As there is no injury to the bone, the bullet is not deformed. Its penetrating power was not great enough to carry it through the tissue so it must have struck the leg at extreme range when its energy was almost spent.
The actual length of the bullet is 1.25 inches; the length of the shadow is about 1.50 inches.