[34] I am of opinion, that if one had the misfortune of being reduced to the necessity of chusing between amputating at the upper part of the thigh, or at the articulation itself, one reason for prefering the latter, would be the greater ease there is in stopping the hemorrhage of the crural artery. A surgeon and anatomist, who has been in repute, observes, _That an hemorrhage of the crural artery is what is chiefly to be dreaded, but the operation requires too short a time, for such an hemorrhage to be fatal_. It is surprizing to see him mention this operation as one that is very familiar; I make this remark, because, as he is not the only person who may allow himself to talk in this manner, a bold pretender to the art, on reading such a passage, might undertake an operation as easy and common, which has never yet been performed. TISSOT. [35] What Mr. Bilguer says with respect to the wounded Prussians, is but too applicable to those of every army. SECT. XXX. I ought now to say something concerning a contusion, or echymosis; I shall confine my remarks particularly to that kind where there is a great quantity of extravasated fluid diffused under the skin, such as we often see, when a ball, without breaking the skin, injures it to such a degree, that it looks like a mortified eschar, and at the same time dislocates, fractures, or shatters the bones belonging to the part. When a surgeon meets with a contusion of this kind, the treatment is not greatly different from that recommended in a mortification; for the skin must be treated exactly like a mortified slough, must be laid open by several deep incisions, dressed with the powder mentioned § X. covered with a digestive ointment mixed with a little essence of myrrh, and the part affected, as well as all around it, kept constantly bathed with emollient fomentations, without any ingredient, either stimulating or astringent. With regard to the shattered bones, the same method may be followed as in § XX. If any of them are luxated, they must be reduced, without, however, confining them by the bandages used in ordinary luxations, and which, in this case, would make the necessary incisions uneasy, would prevent the gangrenous sloughs from casting off, and hinder the formation of pus: It is therefore sufficient, after having replaced the bone, to let it remain quite undisturbed; and when the corrupted slough is come off, the sore may be dressed like wounds of the fleshy parts. SECT. XXXI.