Shrapnel—Plate 76.
HEAD.
Gunshot Fracture of the Vertex.
Wound of entrance, upper right and mid-parietal region.
Wound of exit, none.
The missile probably was deformed before striking the skull, upon which it was fragmented by impact, with several fragments following the internal contour of the vertex and others remaining spattered about the wound of entrance.
It is probable that a larger mass of the shrapnel ball, causing the greater damage to the bone, ricocheted out of the wound.
The distinct outline of the central safety pin and the less definite image of the shrapnel fragments show the wound to have been farther from the plate than the safety pin on the left side.
The treatment is expectant, without search for the missile.
Results in such cases are favorable, except for danger of infection.
Plate 77.