bone in place by pulling with one
hand on finger, while pressing fragments into position with other
hand. Put on each side of bone a splint made of cigar box, padded with
folded handkerchiefs, and retain in place with bandage wound about
snugly. Put forearm and hand in sling._

This accident more commonly happens to the bones corresponding to the
middle and ring finger, and occurs between the knuckle and the wrist,
appearing as a swelling on the back of the hand. On looking at the
closed fist it will be seen that the knuckle corresponding to the
broken bone in the back of the hand has ceased to be prominent, and
has sunken down below the level of its fellows. The end of the
fragment nearer the wrist can generally be felt sticking up in the
back of the hand.

[Illustration: FIG. 23.

A BROKEN FINGER (SCUDDER).

Note splint extending from wrist to tip of finger; also manner of
applying adhesive plaster strips and pad in palm.]

If the finger corresponding to the broken bone in the back of the hand
be pulled on forcibly, and the fragments be held between the thumb and
forefinger of the other hand of the operator, pain and abnormal
motion may be detected, and the ends of the broken bone pressed into
place. A thin wooden splint, as a piece of cigar box, about an inch
wide at base and tapering to the width of the finger should be applied
to the palm of the hand extending from the wrist to a little beyond
the finger tip, secured by strips of adhesive plaster, as in the cut,
and covered by a bandage. The splint should be well padded, and an
additional pad should be placed in the palm of the hand over the point
of fracture. Three weeks are required for firm union, and the hand
should not be used for a month.

It is usually easy to recognize a broken bone in a finger, unless the
break is near a joint, when it may be mistaken for a dislocation.
Pain, abnormal motion, and grating between the fragments are observed.

If there is deformity, it may be corrected by pulling on the injured
finger with one hand, while with the other the fragments are pressed
into line. A narrow, padded wooden or tin splint is applied, as in the
cut (p. 102), reaching from the middle of the palm to the finger tip.
Any existing displacement of the broken bone can be relieved by using
pressure with little pads of cotton held in place by narrow strips of
adhesive plaster where it is needed to keep the bone in line. The
splint may be removed in two we