Mr. Specter. What did you feel by that?
Dr. Carrico. I felt nothing other than the blood and debris. There was no large wound there.
Mr. Specter. What source did you attribute the blood to at that time?
Dr. Carrico. As it could have come from the head wound, and it certainly could have been a back wound, but there was no way to tell whether this blood would have come from a back wound and not from his head.
Mr. Specter. What action did you next take then?
Dr. Carrico. At that time the endotracheal tube was inserted, using a curved laryngoscopic blade, inserting an endotracheal tube, it was seen there were some contusions, hematoma to the right of the larynx, with a minimal deviation of the larynx to the left, and ragged tissue below indicating tracheal injury.
The tube was inserted past this injury, and the cuff inflater was connected to a Bennett machine which is a respiratory assistor using positive pressure.
Mr. Specter. Will you describe briefly what you mean in lay terms by a cuffed endotracheal tube?
Dr. Carrico. This is a plastic tube which is inserted into the trachea, into the windpipe, to allow an adequate airway, adequate breathing. The cuff is a small latex cuff which should prevent leakage of air around the tube, thus insuring an adequate airway.
Mr. Specter. Will you continue, then, to describe what efforts you made to revive the President.