There was no bone injury in this case. The bullet, to have lodged in the soft parts after relatively slight penetration, must have struck the body at extreme range when its energy was almost spent in flight, for its normal outline indicates that it was not retarded by ricochet. The long axis is almost perpendicular to the plate. As the posterior pelvis was next to the plate, the fairly dense shadow shows the projectile was not far from the plate and behind the ischium. The treatment is conservative; infection in such cases is extremely rare; and only pain or impaired function after many months of convalescence justifies operation for removal of the missile. [Illustration: Plate 48.] RIFLE--PLATE 48. LOWER EXTREMITY. Gunshot Wound of the Thigh, with Lodgment of the Bullet. Wound of entrance, outer aspect of the thigh at the junction of the upper and middle thirds. The slight penetration without bone injury and with slight deformity of the nose of the bullet indicates that the wound was caused by a ricochet shot at extreme range, after its energy was almost spent. With the posterior aspect of the thigh next to the plate, the dense shadow and the nearly normal size of its outline indicate that the bullet was in the same relative position and that it lay posterior to the neck of the femur. As such wounds are rarely infected, the treatment is conservative, and a search for the missile is only justified by serious infection, pain, or impaired function. [Illustration: Plate 49.] RIFLE--PLATE 49. LOWER EXTREMITY. Gunshot Wound of the Right Thigh, with Lodgment of the Bullet Behind the Femur. There is no injury of the bone in this case, as the bullet lodged in the muscles posterior to the lower third of the femur without striking the bone. The lighter circular area of the larger end of the shadow of the projectile shows that its base is farther from the plate than its nose, which was probably flattened and bent by the ricochet which reduced its velocity so as to give it but slight power of penetration. It is not easy to determine from inspection of the plate which side of the leg lay next to the plate. With a history of the wound of the right thigh and with the outside of the leg next to the plate, the projectile must have lain near the plate on the outside behind the lower end of the femur, midway between the skin and bone. The markings seen on the bone are not concerned with the wound, as the same effect in the plate is seen in the areas beside the bone. The treatment is conservative; infection is rare. [Illustration: Plate 50.] RIFLE--PLATE 50. LOWER EXTREMITY. Gunshot Wound of the Right Thigh, with Lodgment of the Bullet Behind the Femur.