Warren Commission (06 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (06 of 26): Hearings Vol. VI (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. SPECTER. What did the wound of entry look like, Doctor?
Dr. GREGORY. It appeared to me that the wound of entry was sort of
a linear wound, perhaps three-quarters of an inch in length with a
rounded central portion. Whereas, the wound of exit was rather larger
than this, perhaps an inch and a half across.
Mr. SPECTER. And at approximately what part of the body was the wound
that you described as the wound of entry?
Dr. GREGORY. In view of the drapes that were on the Governor at the
time, I will have to speculate, but as I recall best, it was in an area
probably 2 inches below and medial to the right nipple.
Mr. SPECTER. Is that the wound of entry or exit?
Dr. GREGORY. That's the wound of exit.
Mr. SPECTER. How about the wound of entry?
Dr. GREGORY. The wound of entry was too obscure for me to identify,
since it was just in general over the posterior aspect of his chest.
Mr. SPECTER. What did you observe with respect to the wound of his
wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. I didn't see the wound of his wrist until after the chest
operation had been completed, because his arm was covered by the
operation drapes, the surgical drapes for the chest procedure.
Mr. SPECTER. And when you did have an opportunity to observe the wound
of the wrist, what did you then see?
Dr. GREGORY. I observed the wound on the dorsal aspect of his wrist,
which was about 2 cm. in length, ragged, somewhat irregular, and lay
about an inch and a half or 2 inches above the wrist joint. It was a
little to the radial side of the wrist area.
There was a second wound in the wrist on the volar surface, about a
centimeter and a half proximal to the distal flexion crease and this
wound was a transverse laceration no more than a centimeter in length
and did not gape.
Mr. SPECTER. When you say on the dorsal aspect, what is that?
Dr. GREGORY. In lay terms, that's equivalent to the back of the hand.
Mr. SPECTER. And the volar is equivalent to what?
Dr. GREGORY. The palm surface of the hand.
Mr. SPECTER. What conclusion, if any, did you reach as to which was the
wound of entry and exit on the wrist?
Dr. GREGORY. Based on certain findings in the wound at the time the
debridement was carried out----
Mr. SPECTER. Will you define debridement before you proceed with that?
Dr. GREGORY. Yes; debridement is a surgical term used to designate
that procedure in attending a wound which removes by sharp excision
all nonvital tissue in the area together with any identifiable foreign
objects.
In attending this wound, it was evident early that clot had been
carried into the wound from the dorsal surface to the bone and into the
fracture. This would imply that an irregular missile had passed through
the wrist from the dorsal to the volar aspect.
Mr. SPECTER. Now, were there any characteristics in the volar aspect
which would indicate that it was a wound of exit?
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