Mr. SPECTER. At any rate, someone presented these three pieces of bone
to you?
Commander HUMES. Someone presented these three pieces of bone to me, I
do not recall specifically their statement as to where they had been
recovered.
It seems to me they felt it had been recovered either in the street or
in the automobile, I don't recall specifically.
We were most interested in these fragments of bone, and found that the
three pieces could be roughly put together to account for a portion of
this defect.
Mr. SPECTER. How much remained unaccounted for, Dr. Humes?
Commander HUMES. I would estimate that approximately one-quarter
of that defect was unaccounted for by adding these three fragments
together and seeing what was left.
This is somewhat difficult, because as back to when we were actually
looking for the fragments of metal, as we moved the scalp about,
fragments of various sizes would fall to the table, and so forth, so it
was difficult to put that exact figure into words.
However, the thing which we considered of importance about these three
fragments of bone was that at the margins of one of them which was
roughly pyramidal in shape, there was a portion of the circumference
of what we interpreted as a missile wound. We thus interpreted it this
because there was, the size was, sufficiently large for us, for it to
have the curve of the skull still evident. At the point of this defect,
and I will draw both tables of the bone in this defect, at the area
which we interpreted as the margin of a missile wound, there was a
shelving of the margin.
This would, to us, mean that a missile had made this wound from within
the skull to the exterior. To confirm that this was a missile wound,
X-rays were made of that fragment of bone, which showed radio-opaque
material consistent and similar in character to the particles seen
within the skull to be deposited in the margins of this defect, in this
portion of the bone.
Mr. SPECTER. Then what conclusion did you reach as to what caused that
hole reconstructed from the three portions of the late President's
scalp?
Commander HUMES. We reached the conclusion a missile entered the
left--the right posterior inferior portion----
Mr. SPECTER. Doctor, perhaps it would be helpful if you would refer
to that as letter "A" and the exit as letter "B", so that the record
is clear on those two points and perhaps it will be helpful to your
description as well.
And would you mark them as well, with a pencil?
Commander HUMES. That is not entry for the second.
Mr. SPECTER. Exit for the second?
Commander HUMES. I will label 388 with the letter "A" to indicate our
opinion as to the wound of entrance into the skull.
I will label as Point "B" the area of exit of a portion of the missile
that entered posteriorly. I say a portion because a small fragment was
seen in the position previously noted which was recovered.
However, we concluded that a very significant portion, perhaps the
largest portion, made its exit and accounted for this very large defect
for the multiple fractures of the skull and for the loss of brain and
scalp tissue at this point.
Mr. SPECTER. Will you describe at this juncture the damage which was
inflicted upon the brain, please?
Commander HUMES. May I refer at this point to the gross description of
the brain prepared separately?
Mr. SPECTER. Certainly, Dr. Humes, if you prefer to do it in that order.
Commander HUMES. I believe you have that. It is the second portion of
the report.
Mr. SPECTER. Yes, sir. I can make that available to you here.
Commander HUMES. While that is being provided, when we reflected the
scalp away from the badly damaged skull, and removed some of these
loosened portions of skull bone, we were able to see this large defect
in the right cerebral hemisphere. It corresponded roughly in size with
the greatest diameter of the defect in the scalp measuring some 13 cm.
Mr. SPECTER. May the record now show I am handing to you, Dr. Humes, an
exhibit marked Commission Exhibit 391, and will you identify what that
is, please, Doctor?
Commander HUMES. Exhibit 391 is listed as a supplementary report on the
autopsy of the late President Kennedy, and was prepared some days after
the examination.
This delay necessitated by, primarily, our desire to have the brain
better fixed with formaldehyde before we proceeded further with the
examination of the brain which is a standard means of approach to study
of the brain.
The brain in its fresh state does not lend itself well to examination.
From my notes of the examination, at the time of the post-mortem
examination, we noted that clearly visible in the large skull defect
and exuding from it was lacerated brain tissue which, on close
inspection proved to represent the major portion of the right cerebral
hemisphere.
We also noted at this point that the flocculus cerebri was extensively
lacerated and that the superior sagittal sinus which is a venous blood
containing channel in the top of the meninges was also lacerated.
To continue to answer your question with regard to the damage of the
brain, following the formal infixation, Dr. Boswell, Dr. Finck and I
convened to examine the brain in this state.
We also prepared photographs of the brain from several aspects to
depict the extent of these injuries.
We found that the right cerebral hemisphere was markedly disrupted.
There was a longitudinal laceration of the right hemisphere which was
parasagittal in position. By the saggital plane, as you may know, is a
plane in the midline which would divide the brain into right and left
halves.
This laceration was parasagittal. It was situated approximately 2.5 cm.
to the right of the midline, and extended from the tip of occipital
lobe, which is the posterior portion of the brain, to the tip of the
frontal lobe which is the most anterior portion of the brain, and it
extended from the top down to the substance of the brain a distance of
approximately 5 or 6 cm.
The base of the laceration was situated approximately 4.5 cm. below the
vertex in the white matter. By the vertex we mean--the highest point on
the skull is referred to as the vertex.
The area in which the greatest loss of brain substance was particularly
in the parietal lobe, which is the major portion of the right cerebral
hemisphere.
The margins of this laceration at all points were jagged and irregular,
with additional lacerations extending in varying directions and for
varying distances from the main laceration.
In addition, there was a laceration of the corpus callosum which is a
body of fibers which connects the two hemispheres of the brain to each
other, which extended from the posterior to the anterior portion of
this structure, that is the corpus callosum. Exposed in this laceration
were portions of the ventricular system in which the spinal fluid
normally is disposed within the brain.
When viewed from above the left cerebral hemisphere was intact. There
was engorgement of blood vessels in the meninges covering the brain. We
note that the gyri and sulci, which are the convolutions of the brain
over the left hemisphere were of normal size and distribution.
Those on the right were too fragmented and distorted for satisfactory
description.
When the brain was turned over and viewed from its basular or inferior
aspect, there was found a longitudinal laceration of the mid-brain
through the floor of the third ventricle, just behind the optic chiasma
and the mammillary bodies.
This laceration partially communicates with an oblique 1.5 cm. tear
through the left cerebral peduncle. This is a portion of the brain
which connects the higher centers of the brain with the spinal cord
which is more concerned with reflex actions.
There were irregular superficial lacerations over the basular or
inferior aspects of the left temporal and frontal lobes. We interpret
that these later contusions were brought about when the disruptive
force of the injury pushed that portion of the brain against the
relative intact skull.
This has been described as contre-coup injury in that location.
This, then, I believe, Mr. Specter, are the major points with regard to
the President's head wound.
Mr. SPECTER. Do you have an opinion, Dr. Humes, as to whether there
were dumdum bullets used specifically on this wound which struck point
"A" of the head, on 388?
Commander HUMES. I believe these were not dumdum bullets, Mr. Specter.
A dumdum bullet is a term that has been used to describe various
missiles which have a common characteristic of fragmenting extensively
upon striking.
Mr. SPECTER. Would you characterize the resultant effect on this bullet
as not extensive fragmenting?
Commander HUMES. Yes. Had this wound on point "A" on Exhibit 388 been
inflicted by a dumdum bullet, I would anticipate that it would not have
anything near the regular contour and outline which it had. I also
would anticipate that the skull would have been much more extensively
disrupted, and not have, as was evident in this case, a defect which
quite closely corresponded to the overlying skin defect because that
type of a missile would fragment on contact and be much more disruptive
at this point.
Mr. SPECTER. At this point would you state for the record the size and
approximate dimension of the major wound on the top of the head which
you have marked wound "B"?
Commander HUMES. This was so large, that localization of it in a
descriptive way is somewhat difficult.
However, we have mentioned that its major--its greatest dimension
was approximately 13 cm. The reason it was difficult to measure is
that various fracture lines extend out from it in a quite irregular
fashion, but it was approximately 13 cm.
Mr. McCLOY. This red that is marked on 388 on the base of the skull, is
that seepage or what?
Commander HUMES. No, sir; that is to depict the musculature at the base
of the neck.
Mr. McCLOY. I see.
Commander HUMES. That is not taken to depict the blood, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. On the reconstruction of the three portions of the scalp
which you described----
Commander HUMES. Skull, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. Skull, which enabled you to reconstruct a point of exit
of the bullet, will you state at this point of the record that size of
opening or exit path of the bullet?
Commander HUMES. As I mentioned previously, at one angle of this
largest pyramidal shaped fragments of bone which came as a separate
specimen, we had the portion of the perimeter of a roughly what we
would judge to have been a roughly circular wound of exit. Judging from
that portion of the perimeter which was available to us, we would have
judged the diameter of that wound to be between 2.5 and 3 cm.
Mr. SPECTER. Doctor Humes, have you now described the major
characteristics and features of the wounds to the late President's head?
Commander HUMES. I believe that I have, sir.
Mr. SPECTER. All right. Will you now turn your attention, please to the
wound which is noted on 385 and 386 being at the----
Mr. McCLOY. Before we leave that, could I ask a question?
When you talk about dumdum bullets, do you include the ordinary type
of soft nose sporting bullets, maybe this is something that Colonel
Finck would be more expert on, but was that, was the bullet, could it
possibly have been a sporting type of hunting bullet that has a soft
nose but is still somewhat firm?
Commander HUMES. From the characteristics of this wound, Mr. McCloy, I
would believe that it must have had a very firm head rather than a soft
head.
Mr. McCLOY. Steel jacketed, would you say, copper jacketed bullet?
Commander HUMES. I believe more likely a jacketed bullet because of the
regular outline which was present.
Mr. McCLOY. All right.
Mr. DULLES. Could I ask a question?
The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Dulles.
Mr. DULLES. Believing that we know the type of bullet that was usable
in this gun, would this be the type of wound that might result from
that kind of a bullet?
Commander HUMES. I believe so, sir.