Gun-shot wounds : particularly those caused by newly-invented missiles : an essay which received the Fiske Fund Premium of the Rhode Island Medical Society, for 1864 / by Alexander R. Becker.

  • Becker, Alexander R.
Date:
[1865]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Gun-shot wounds : particularly those caused by newly-invented missiles : an essay which received the Fiske Fund Premium of the Rhode Island Medical Society, for 1864 / by Alexander R. Becker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    d ^'1 «r. ^7f''77 GUN-SHOT WOUNDS, PAKTICULAELY THOSE CAUSED BY NEWLY-INVENTED MISSILES. ?' An Essay which received the Fiske Fund Premium of the Rhode Island Medical Society, for 1864. By ALEXANDER R. BECKER., M.D., Providence, R. I. r{ ' Arma virumque cano . . . . [Reprinted from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, February, 1865.] The subject of Gun-sliot Wounds is one of great interest, espe- cially at the present time, when our country is engaged in a war which calls forth such large numbers of her sons, and exposes them to all the hardships and injuries of the field. To treat this subject as fully as it deserves is, of course, impossi- ble in an essay of this sort. 1 have therefore endeavored in the fol- lowing pages to give a somewhat extended summary of the injuries which occur on the battle-field, with their consequences and treat- ment, as given by the best authorities, aided by my comparatively slight experience in the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign. For statistics I have been obliged to refer to Dr. Macleod's valua- ble work on the Surgery of the Crimean War, as we have none, as yet, of the present war which are sufficiently connected to be of any value. Chapter I. The Peculiarities of Gun-shot Wounds, and their general Treatment. The sensation caused by a gun-shot wound in a fleshy part, is usually described by the sufferer as resembling the effect of a smart blow from a supple cane. Some, however, feel as if a red-hot wire were passed through the part; while others are entirely unconscious of any wound, and are first apprised of it by the flowing of blood. This seems impossible; but Macleod, in his Notes on the Surgery of the Crimean War, affirms that he personally knew an officer who had both legs carried away, and who said it was only when he attempted to rise that he became aware of the injury received. The present war has also afforded instances of a similar character.