Tracheitis and septic pneumonia developed, and the man died of acute septicaemia thirty-six hours later. Death occurred just as the Division received marching orders, and no _post-mortem_ examination was made. As a result of palpation at the time of the tracheotomy, the probabilities seemed against the presence of the tooth plate in the pharynx, but the absence of positive evidence scarcely allows the case to be certainly classed as one of cellulitis and septicaemia secondary to wound of the tongue. WOUNDS OF THE NECK Wounds of the neck were not unfrequent and were of the gravest importance; there can be little doubt that they accounted for a considerable proportion of the deaths on the field. On the other hand, the neck as a region offered some of the most striking examples of hairbreadth escape of important structures. Consideration of a number of the vascular lesions (see cervical aneurisms, p. 135) also shows conclusively that in no region did the small size of the bullet more materially influence the result, since no doubt can exist that all these wounds would have proved immediately fatal if produced by projectiles of larger calibre. In this place only a few general considerations will be entered into, as most of the important cases are dealt with under the general headings of vessels, nerves, and spine; but it is convenient to include here the few remarks that have to be made concerning the cervical viscera. The wounds of the soft parts might course in any direction, but vertical tracks from above downwards were rare. In point of fact, these occurred only in connection with perforations of the head, and as vertical wounds of the latter were received in the prone position, usually when the head was raised, the necessary conditions for longitudinal tracks were seldom offered. One case of a complete vertical track in the muscles of the back of the neck has been already quoted (No. 69, p. 286). Tracks coursing upwards from the trunk were somewhat more frequent in occurrence; thus a considerable number traversing the thorax were seen. In such instances the aperture of exit was generally situated in the posterior triangle, and some of the brachial nerves often suffered. The commonest forms of wound were the transverse or the oblique. A large number of cases with such tracks will be found among the cases of injury to the cervical vessels and nerves. In some instances the course was restricted to the neck alone, in others the trunk or upper extremity was also implicated.