Wounds of the thorax in war / by J. Keogh Murphy.

  • Murphy, J. Keogh (James Keogh), 1869-1916
Date:
1915
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Wounds of the thorax in war / by J. Keogh Murphy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    sterilized saline. The tube leading to the Y piece is now screwed on and the rubber pieces going to the needles clipped. The bottle can now be fixed at any elevation, and can be covered with flannel. The saline retains its heat very well, losing about 3°F. each hour. The needles are very well guarded and the rubber good. I know of one set which has been in constant use in a busy surgical home for two and a half years. After-Effects of Wounds of the Thorax.—It is difficult to generalize on this subject. There is little doubt that if a bullet is left in the chest, after-effects of some kind continue. These may be somewhat functional, or may be quite organic. Most patients complain of localised pain where they think the bullet is, but radiography will show that the bullet is entirely altered in position. I recollect a case where the end of an exploratory syringe was lost in a patient’s right base, and, very properly, the surgeon made no attempt to remove it. The patient obtained much subsequent advice, and suffered from localised pain, but a radio¬ graph some two years afterwards showed clearly that the foreign body lay lengthwise in front of the lung root and behind the heart, and was firmly fixed in position. It was obviously doing no harm there, and any attempt at removal would have been to the last degree dangerous. All foreign bodies have a tendency to travel at a late date. I have already quoted a case where a bullet travelled to the surface at a very early date. This travelling of bullets is as exaggerated in the lay male mind as are ante-natal impressions in the