Wounds of the testicles I saw on several occasions. I remember only one out of some half-dozen in which castration became necessary. I was told of one case, for the accuracy of which I cannot vouch, in which destruction of one testicle was followed by an attack of melancholia, culminating in the suicide of the patient.
Wounds of the penis also occurred, but as a rule were unimportant. I append a case, however; in which the penile urethra was wounded, which is of some interest.
(209) Wounded at Heilbron. Range 1,500 yards. Entry, 2½ inches below the right anterior superior iliac spine; the bullet traversed the groin superficially in the line of Poupart's ligament, emerged, and crossed both penis and scrotum. The trooper was in the saddle when struck, and the penis probably somewhat coiled up. Three wounds were found, one at the junction of the penis and scrotum which opened the urethra, a second one about 3/4 of an inch along the under surface of the penis, and a third on the left side of the base of the prepuce. A considerable amount of œdema and ecchymosis of the scrotum developed, but no extravasation of urine. A catheter was kept in the urethra for some days, and the opening eventually closed by granulation.
I only once saw a patient with an injury to the deep urethra; in this case concurrent injury to other pelvic organs led to death on the third day. As a good many of the patients with pelvic wounds died rapidly, the accident may have been more common than my experience would suggest.
FOOTNOTES:
[19] British Med. Journal, May 12, 1900, i. 1195.
[20] 'On Traumatic Rupture of the Colon.' Annals of Surgery, vol. xxx. 1899, p. 137.
[21] Two of these died.
[22] The cases of injury to the solid viscera are those only which happen to be quoted in the text, and give no idea of relative mortality.
[23] British Medical Journal, May 12, 1900, vol. i. p. 1194.