1. The records of seventy-two patients with fractures resulting from civilian gunshot wounds were studied.
2. The majority of these patients were treated by superficial débridement and immobilization with satisfactory results.
3. Retained missiles in the hand or foot were often painful and required later excision.
4. The majority of patients did not receive antibiotics, and only two of the seventy-two patients had wound infections, neither of them serious.
3. The differences between civilian and military wounds should be emphasized, and a program of careful conservative management is advocated for the civilian.