Title: Adams, Thomas

Source text: Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes, United States Army, The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861–65.), Part 1, Volume 2 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870), 552.

Keywords:wounds and injuries of the chestoperations on the chestligationsligations of the intercostal arteryattempt to tie vessel unsuccessfulpleural cavity contained much bloodball lodged in lower lobe of lungball passed through arm, lodged in lung

Civil War Washington ID: med.d1e19938

TEI/XML: med.d1e19938.xml


CASE.—Private Thomas Adams, Co. C, 7th Wisconsin Volunteers, aged 18 years, was wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, May 10th, 1864, by a conoidal musket ball, which passed through the left arm and lodged in the lung. He reached Alexandria, Virginia, several days after being wounded, and was admitted to the 2d division hospital. Hæmorrhage occurred from an intercostal artery on May 18th, and again on the following day. For this compression was resorted to, and an unsuccessful attempt at ligation was made by Surgeon T. Rush Spencer, U. S. V., at the entrance wound in the chest, about three inches in front of the angle of the sixth rib. The fifth intercostal space was found very narrow at this point, the wound in the pleura very deep, and the obstacles to tying the vessel were insurmountable. Compression by plugging the wound and closing the orifice as nearly as practicable. Sixteen ounces of blood were lost on the occasion of the third bleeding. Death resulted on May 19th, 1864. At the autopsy, the left pleural cavity was found to contain much blood. The ball was lodged in the lower lobe of the lung of that side.