illustrate the fact that, as a result of the special mechanism of
causation of the injuries, the type deviated in many ways from that
accompanying the corresponding injuries of civil practice.

The characters of the external wounds will be first considered, followed
by some remarks concerning the symptoms attendant on the different
degrees and types of lesion, the symptoms special to injuries to
different regions of the head, and on the subsequent complications
observed.

In the simplest injuries the type forms of entry and exit wound were
found, and it has already been observed that in these, if symmetrical,
considerable difficulty existed in discriminating between the two
apertures. This is to be explained by the fact that the arrangement and
structure of the scalp are identical in corresponding regions; hence the
only difference in the conditions of production of the entry and exit
wounds exists in the absence of support to the skin in the latter. The
granular structure of the hairy scalp is opposed to the occurrence of
the slit forms of exit, hence the openings were usually irregularly
rounded. Any increase of size in the exit wound in the soft parts due to
the passage of bone fragments with the bullet, was equalised in that of
entry by the fact that the latter, as supported by a hard substratum,
was usually larger than those met with in situations where the skin
covers soft parts alone.

In some cases of gutter fracture the wounds of entry were large and
irregular, as a result of upward splintering of the bone at the distal
margin of the aperture of entry in the skull, and consequent laceration
of the scalp. Again, on the forehead very pure types of slit exit wound
were often met with in the position of the vertical or horizontal
creases. With higher degrees of velocity on the part of the bullet and
consequent comminution at the aperture of exit in the bone, the scalp
was more extensively lacerated, and large irregular openings in the soft
parts, often occupied by fragments of bone and brain pulp, were met
with. It is well to repeat here, however, that the presence of brain
pulp in a wound by no means necessarily indicated the aperture of exit,
for it was sometimes found in the entry opening also.

In the most severe cases, such as are included in class I., the exit
wound often possessed in the highest degree the so-called 'explosive'
character. From an opening in the skin with everted margins two or more
inch