PENETRATION OF TISSUE BY FUEL OIL UNDER HIGH PRESSURE FROM DIESEL ENGINE

Abstract

A recent query1inThe Journalconcerns injury resulting from the penetration of tissue by fuel oil from a Diesel engine. Since the reply indicates that no such cases have been reported in the medical literature, the present case report and discussion may be of interest. A motor mechanic, aged 47, was testing the jet of a Diesel engine. He was holding the jet, which he had removed from a cylinder head, about 1 inch from the tip of his right middle finger when he tripped the valve. Oil was forced from the jet into the finger at a pressure which he estimated to be about 4,000 pounds. There was immediate slight bleeding from several points in the finger-tip and pain, which gradually became intense. When I first saw the patient twenty-four hours later opiates were necessary to relieve the pain. At this time the finger and hand