The alterations made during the last five or six years in the arms of a great proportion of the troops of the leading powers of Europe, and which will, no doubt, be extended to all soldiers in regular armies—namely, the transformation of muskets into “_armes de précision_,” with rifled barrels and graduated aims—have led to changes in the severity and almost in the nature of gunshot wounds from small balls; and the consideration of these changes requires the especial attention of army surgeons. The effects of the new rifle–balls were widely witnessed during a portion of the period of the Crimean war. The campaign just concluded in Italy will probably produce additional practical observations from the Continental surgeons engaged in it. The fearful proportion of killed and wounded—greater than in any former experience—will have shown the effects not only of rifled muskets, but of rifled cannon also; and in the French forces engaged an opportunity will have been afforded of instituting a comparison of the results of their treatment under circumstances of bodily health and hospital accommodation very different from those of the French army in the Crimea. It may be hoped that the experience thus gained will advance the knowledge of gunshot wounds and their treatment a still further stride toward accuracy. In England, one valuable result which emanated from the late war with Russia was the regular collection and arrangement, under government authority for the first time, of the observations and practice of the medical officers employed in the campaign. The value to science of such systematized historical records, if fairly and fully developed, can scarcely be overrated; and it is to be hoped that henceforth a similar course will be always adopted whenever the country may become involved in war. VARIETIES OF GUNSHOT WOUNDS. Gunshot wounds are modified in their nature by the form and kind of missile, by the degree of force with which it is propelled, and by the seat of injury. They are, in addition, affected by the circumstances in which the soldier happens to be placed, and by the state of his health when the injury is received. =Form and nature of missile.=—The projectiles used in warfare of the present day are cannon and musket shot, shells of various kinds, hand grenades of iron or thick glass, case–shot, slugs, and other minor varieties of such missiles. These are the ordinary instruments of _direct_ gunshot wounds in warfare; but, in addition, there are numerous sources of _indirect_ wounds, resulting from the discharge of cannon and musketry. These are stones, or other hard substances, struck from parapets or from the surface of the ground by cannon–shot; splinters of wood from platforms and framework, or of iron from gun–carriages; fragments of bone from wounded comrades, or articles in their possession; and any other miscellaneous objects which may happen to come into contact with the solid ball or shell in its course.