Abrasion

“ A rifle-bullet which splits up a long bone into many longitudinal fragments, inflicts a very much more serious injury than the ordinary fracture effected by the ball from a smooth-bore [46] musket, and the constitutional shock bears like proportion. When a portion of one or of both lower extremities is carried away by a cannon-ball, the higher toward the trunk the injury is inflicted, the greater the shock, independent of the loss of blood. Some writers, in accounting for “shock,” lay stress on the concussion, and general mechanical effects on the whole body, of the momentum of the iron shot. ”

“ Every drop of the molten liquid bored a hole through the flesh to the bone. At the same moment enormous blocks of stone and masses of sand rolled, rapid and irresistible, down the slope of the breach, overthrowing, breaking, crushing, smashing whatever stood in their way. Joined to this murderous defense was the frightfully effective fire of our arquebusiers, who shot unerringly, at close range, themselves safe, upon a foe in disorder. And yet, however decimated and broken, the royalists stuck to the assault until they finally reached the circumvallation. ”

“ A fracture is said to be simple, where there is no wound of the superimposed integuments. The external parts may be bruised, or the deep structure much injured, with laceration of the vessels and rapid and great swelling; or there may be little or no injury of the soft parts. Great danger may exist without division of the integuments; these, yielding under the force, may remain entire, whilst by great and direct violence the bone is comminuted, the muscles broken up, and the vessels and nerves torn,—the limb is infiltrated with blood, and must become gangrenous as soon as reaction takes place. ”

“ Some cutting weapons, like an axe, act as much by means of their weight as by their cutting edges. Wounds caused by such weapons we can often distinguish by the following signs: The edges are not as smooth as is the case with a cutting instrument, and they may be more or less lacerated and show signs of contusion. The wound is often deep in comparison with its length, and the ends of the wound abrupt instead of slanting up from the bottom to the surface. The section of resisting organs and the impression of the edge of the weapon on the bone are further signs of the use of such a weapon. ”

“ That shoulder had been torn open with a blow dealt by a massive steel blade which had lacerated it to the bone; even a philosopher's endurance was not proof against this sudden rending of an already painful wound. ”

“ It is quite impossible to suppose that they have been due to a blow of an axe or sword. That would only be possible where portions of the skull were arched or projecting. Moreover, a blow would have left bruises on the bone, and it must be remembered that steel weapons were then unknown; no flint or bronze axe or sword could make so clean a cut. Besides, an examination of the edges of the wounds reveals the manner in which the trepanning was effected. There remain the scratches, formed by a slip of the tool employed, and the marks of the flint scraper which effected the operation. ”

“ Considering the nature of the body which inflicts the injury in a gunshot wound, and the velocity with which it is impelled, it is evident that the cure must be in all cases tedious, in consequence of the sloughing and suppuration which is induced, particularly at the aperture through which the ball passed. ”

“ They, moreover, tried the effect of shock upon the liquid, and found that the repeated dropping of the cylinder from a height of nearly 20 feet upon a large steel anvil gave no explosion, but that when the cylinder was crushed under a heavy blow the impact was followed, after a short interval of time, by an explosion which was manifestly due to the fracture of the cylinder and the ignition of the escaping gas, mixed with air, from sparks caused by the breaking of the metal. ”

“ I struck my feet against stones; I bruised my body against the jagged sides of boulders; every moment I expected to feel that [80] murdering great knife come crashing in my bones.
Suddenly I tumbled into a water-hole, hurting my ankle (though I scarce did feel it) ; but got out, set my back to a great boulder that stood near, drew my rapier, and made shift to parry a lunge in the nick of time.
And, as the madman blundered in on me with the impulse of the blow, I caught his wrist in a desperate gripe, and twisted his arm round, until he dropped his knife, roaring with pain. ”

“ Even in weapons different degrees of barbarity are clearly discernible, according as they are intended to effect a disabling wound, or a wound that will cause needless laceration and pain by the difficulty of their removal. A barbed arrow or spear betokens of course the latter object, and it is worth visiting the multi-barbed weapons in Kensington Museum from different parts of the world, to learn to what lengths military ingenuity may go in this direction. ”

“ To burst is to break by pressure from within, as a bombshell, but it is used also for the result of violent force otherwise exerted; as, to burst in a door, where the door yields as if to an explosion. To crush is to break by pressure from without, as an egg-shell. To crack is to break without complete severance of parts; a cracked cup or mirror may still hold together. Fracture has a somewhat similar sense. In a fractured limb, the ends of the broken bone may be separated, tho both portions are still retained within the common muscular tissue. ”

“ When the tip of the arrow's point has reached the extremity of the cords, the arrow is struck by a blow from the balista, and flies out of sight; sometimes even giving forth sparks by its great velocity, and it often happens that before the arrow is seen, it has given a fatal wound. ”

“ When used in stabbing, the weight was not sufficiently great, nor was the blade large enough to inflict a fatal wound; when hurled, the weapon was often lost through the animal escaping with it sticking fast, and being seen no more. ”

“ Further, they keep the bow near the fire to make the wound which it has inflicted hot; and for the same reason they put the arrow-head, if it has been recovered, into the fire. Moreover, they are careful to keep the bow-string taut and to twang it occasionally, for this will cause the wounded man to suffer from tension of the nerves and spasms of tetanus. "It is constantly received and avouched," says Bacon, "that the anointing of the weapon that maketh the wound will heal the wound itself. ”

“ Gunshot Fracture of the Shaft of the Femur,
with Lodgment of the Missile.
The course of the shrapnel ball was from within outward, striking the femur with the energy of high (shrapnel) velocity, with fragmentation of the missile by impact on the bone. The largest fragment, by the distinct outline of its shadow, lies close to the plate and behind the bone; a smaller metal fragment has been carried to the outer border of the thigh, where it lies superficially; another fragment lies in the seat of fracture. ”

“ Fifthly, to ascertain if any residuum or ash is left after ignition, about half an ounce is burned on a clean glass plate, and fired with a hot iron. The explosion should be sharp, and produce a sudden concussion in the air; and the force and power of this concussion should be judged by that of known good quality. Few sparks should fly off, nor should white beads or globules appear, as it would be a sure indication, as we have before explained, of insufficient incorporation. ”

“ If any one is struck with an arrow on any vital part of his body, he is obliged to fall, and his adversary rushes up to him, places his foot upon him, and snatching from his belt his wooden knife, grasps hold of his victim’s scalp-lock of grass, and making a feint at it with his wooden knife, twitches it off and puts it into his belt, and enters again into the ranks and front of battle. ”

“ The chief are—1st, spherical, as cannon-balls, grape, musket-shot, and shells; 2d, cylindro-conoidal, as balls belonging to rifled cannon and rifled muskets; 3d, irregular, but generally bounded by linear and jagged edges, as fragments of shells and splinters.
A gunshot wound, whether received from a direct or indirect projectile, may be complicated by the entrance of extraneous bodies of various kinds, most commonly portions of the cloth or buttons of the dress worn by the person wounded. ”

“ Men who, a few hours before, had calmly faced gun-fire, who had seen some of their number shattered and dismembered by solid shot, who were accustomed to hand-to-hand combats with knife or cutlass, winced and complained as the refractory ends of steel sliced their hands and wrists. ”

“ The sensation of a stab is often identified as contact with a hot object, and it is further asserted that the wounded person feels close to the pain which accompanies the push or the cut, the cold of the blade and its presence in the depths of his body. So far as I have been able to learn from wounded people, these assertions are not confirmed. Setting aside individuals who exaggerate intentionally and want to make themselves interesting or to indicate considerable damage, all answers point to the fact that stabs, shots, and blows are sensed as pushes. ”

“ The thrust is parried with the shield, and a wound is rarely mortal except in the back: from the great length of the blade, the least movement of the man attacked causes it to fall upon the shoulder-blade. ”

“ The right hand being properly bandaged with a handkerchief, the stone to be broken is taken with the left and allowed to rest upon a larger stone or upon an anvil. Then the stone to be broken is struck with the right fist, while care is taken to raise it a slight distance above the anvil just before the fist touches it. The stone then takes on the velocity of the fist that strikes it, and coming into violent contact with its support, is very promptly broken. ”

“ When under these circumstances the enormous mass is put in motion, at the rate perhaps of five or six revolutions in a [Pg 13] second, it bursts, and some enormous fragment, a quarter or a third of the whole, flies up through the flooring above, or out through a wall, according to the position of the part thrown off, at the time of the fracture. An accident of this kind occurred at the Armory some years since. One fragment of the stone struck the wall of the building, which was two or three feet thick, and broke it through. ”

“ The horn, filthy with blood and excrement, very often broken at the ends by blows into small splinters, broke the flesh, lacerated it, perforated it, so that it was at the same time a deep penetrating wound, and a crushing bruise, but all the same these awful wounds were cured far more easily than those of daily life. ”

“ It is this force, multiplied by the weight of the ball, which gives it the destructive power. If this ball is brought into collision with the foot of a person, such destruction ensues as generally to necessitate amputation. ”

“ When he slid in his right hand the long pin pierced his palm, causing him to cry out loudly with pain. I did not see him at the moment, but I was waiting outside his office at the time, and I gloated in my mind at the picture of his stabbed hand, ebbing drops of blood where the blue steel entered. ”

“ The concussion of the firing 'swept off the bulwarks and netting in the track of the explosion,' and one of the effects was 'to start the joiner work, and to break in some of the panels of the doors, and to take a part of the rail off.' Upon the same occasion she struck an overhanging tree, which took off a part of the wheel house, and swept off both of the flagstaffs and all the awning stanchions. ”

“ Then he determined to lead the assault in person, and though suffering from a severe wound in his left hand, he tied his shield to his left arm, and, brandishing his sword, called upon his men to follow. ”

“ She approached the unsuspecting youth, and, while his soul was devoutly engaged in prayer, she raised the fatal axe, and, with one blow, severed his skull, and the men with their clubs beat his body into a shapeless mass. ”

“ The barbed arrow-head was immeasurably more dangerous, imbedded in the flesh, than a mere lump of lead. Hundreds of men, hale and well to-day, have had fire-arm bullets imbedded in their flesh for years. ”

“ A young man who was tamping a hole in a rock, with an iron bar an inch in diameter and three feet seven inches long, had the bar blown through his skull by the premature discharge of a blast. The explosion drove the bar completely through his head, and high in the air. ”

“ In cavalry charges, etc., our soldiers too often forget that they have in their hands pointing and cutting weapons, and make slashing hits, which lead to a large percentage of broken blades. I should myself always place the point before the edge, as it is quicker and far more deadly; but [Pg 32] as there are numerous instances where cutting is necessary, it is as well to remember that a mere hit with the true edge of a straight-bladed sword is little better than a blow from a heavy stick having an oval section. ”

“ Easy to crush the assailants: them amidst 380
Fast fled the arrows; the large brass-wing'd darts, [7]
There driven resistless from the espringal,
Keeping their impulse even in the wound,
Whirl as they pierce the victim. ”

“ Impalement, as practised at Batavia, is one of the most shocking punishments ever invented. An iron spike, about six feet long, is forcibly passed between the back-bone and the skin from the lower part of the body, where a cross cut is made for its insertion, till it come out betwixt the shoulders and neck, the executioner guiding the point of it so that none of the vitals or large blood vessels may be wounded. ”

“ Shape.—The ogival tip and general wedge-like outline, while decreasing the aerial resistance to and increasing the power of penetration possessed by the bullet, at the same time allow the escape of some structures by displacement, while others are saved from complete destruction by undergoing perforation. Beyond this the sharper the tip, the smaller is the area of the body primarily impinged upon, the less the resistance offered to perforation, and to some degree the less the destruction of surrounding tissues. ”