270 
GUNSHOT WOUNDS. 
Mr. W. Percivall says nothing of gunshot wounds, because 
the limits of his work did not permit it. 
Mr. Blaine devotes a single page only to this subject ; but it is a 
closely printed one, and affords one of the happiest specimens of 
this author’s peculiar art of condensation. Mr. Beech has care¬ 
fully read this short but valuable sketch, and adopted most of the 
opinions inculcated in it; but he justly claims the praise of being 
the only author who has mentioned the subject, and related 
cases to illustrate it.” ^ 
Professor Vatel, in his Eleniens de Pathologic VHerinaire, 
enters at considerable length into the subject; but he seems to 
take a somewhat erroneous view of it. Instead of considerins: 
the case in all its bearings, he regards the first and almost the 
only indication to be the extraction of the foreign substance ; 
and to this point, and this alone, all his precepts tend. He 
adopts, almost to its full extent, the old and abominable practice 
of probing and dilating every wound, not only for the purpose of 
extracting the ball, but any other foreign substance that might have 
been introduced with it. Messrs. Blaine and Beech, however, are 
men of practical experience in these cases; the one, before he 
adopted our profession, on the poor wounded soldier; the other, 
on the horse itself. While they tell us to extract the ball if it can 
be felt, or any extraneous substances which would necessarily do 
harm, they caution us against unnecessarily irritating the parts, 
and thus setting up an inflammation which we can never after¬ 
wards subdue. 
A history is given by Professor Rodet of the successful extrac¬ 
tion of a bullet from the shoulder of a horse, and which, at some 
future time, we shall translate. It was only at the urgent 
entreaty of the owner that he undertook the operation, and he 
candidly attributes his success, partly, to good fortune. 
Hurtrel D’Arboval devotes several pages to this subject; but 
he is evidently copying the practice of the human practi¬ 
tioner, with little reference to the horse. His, however, is high 
authority in both professions; we will, therefore, quote a few 
paragraphs from him. 
When the ball passes through any particular part, the aper- 
