ly lodged in proportion to the frequency of their use. Thus I saw
a considerable number of Martini-Henry, Snider, large leaden sporting
bullets, and shrapnel retained. Again, among the bullets of smaller
calibre, the Guedes 8-mm. bullet, which travels at a comparatively low
rate of velocity and with moderate spin, was far more frequently lodged
than the Lee-Metford or Mauser in comparison with the number of Guedes
rifles in use.

Bullets of small calibre were, however, also retained with some degree
of frequency, either as the result of striking at a long range, or in
such a direction as to need to traverse a large segment of the body
before escaping, or as striking large or several bones, or making some
irregular form of impact: the last was a not infrequent explanation of
lodgment, especially when a bone lay in the course of the track.
Ricochet bullets naturally were especially likely to be retained, both
on account of the low velocity with which they often travel and the
irregularity of their surface with consequent loss of penetrating power.

WOUNDS OF IRREGULAR TYPE

Many of the wounds met with deviated so greatly in appearance and
general characters from what has been described above as to afford
little or no evidence of having been inflicted by small-calibre bullets,
and before describing these it is necessary to give a short account of
the circumstances which are responsible for such departures from the
common type. In the case of the wound of entry, the simplest
explanations are lateral impact on the part of the cylindro-conoidal
projectile, due to the position of the part struck or the direction in
which the bullet has been fired, wobbling on the part of the bullet due
simply to loss of velocity and force in flight, or to turning of the
bullet by impact with an obstacle to its course (ricochet) which may
amount to actual reversal of the striking end. As a rule, in such cases
the size of the aperture of entry exceeds that of exit, and in a large
proportion the bullet is retained within the body.

Of these explanations that of the 'wobble' needs some passing notice. In
its simplest form it depends merely on loss of velocity of flight on the
part of the bullet, the centre of gravity of which lies behind its
middle; hence a tendency to turn over and over is acquired. As a result
of this, either the side of the tip, the side of the bullet, the side of
the base, or the base itself may form the portion of the pr