Eve remarks that General
Shields was shot through the body by a discharge of a cannon at
Cerro Gordo, and was given up as certain to die. The General
himself thought it was grape-shot that traversed his chest. He
showed no signs of hemoptysis, and although in great pain, was
able to give commands after reception of the wound. In this case,
the ball had evidently entered within the right nipple, had
passed between the lungs, through the mediastinum, emerging
slightly to the right of the spine. Guthrie has mentioned a
parallel instance of a ball traversing the thoracic cavity, the
patient completely recovering after treatment. Girard, Weeds,
Meacham, Bacon, Fryer and others report cases of perforating
gunshot wounds of the chest with recovery.
Sewell describes a case of transfixion of the chest in a youth of
eighteen. After mowing and while carrying his scythe home, the
patient accidentally fell on the blade; the point passed under
the right axilla, between the 3d and 4th right ribs, horizontally
through the chest, and came out through corresponding ribs of the
opposite side, making a small opening. He fell to the ground and
lay still until his brother came to his assistance; the latter
with great forethought and caution carefully calculated the
curvature of the scythe blade, and thus regulating his direction
of tension, successfully withdrew the instrument.
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