TESTIMONY OF DR. MICHAEL BADEN, PATHOLOGIST AND CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK beginning at 1HSCA180... 

    Dr. BADEN. Taken at the autopsy, yes, sir.
    Chairman STOKES. I guess it is important at this point that the record reflect the fact that the photographs which are sealed in the National Archives have been made available to the appropriate members of this committee staff and to the members of this committee.
    The committee has viewed those photographs as late as this past evening. The committee feels it would be in extremely poor taste for this committee to submit those photographs to public view. It also, in our opinion, would be an invasion of the privacy of the President's family. It is for that reason that these photographs will remain sealed and will not be displayed during the course of these hearings.
    The committee, at this time, will recognize counsel Kenneth Klein.
    Mr. KLEIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Doctor, what is your current position?
    Dr. BADEN. I am Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York.
    Mr. KLEIN. What are your duties as chief medical examiner of the city of New York?
    Dr. BADEN. My duties include supervision and responsibility for the functioning of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of New York City, which has responsibility to investigate all sudden, suspicious, and unnatural deaths that occur in the five boroughs of New York City.
    Mr. KLEIN. During the course of your duties as Chief Medical Examiner, do you perform autopsies?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir.
    Mr. KLEIN. What is an autopsy?
    Dr. BADEN. An autopsy is a systematic external and internal examination of the dead body to determine any abnormalities that might be present to assist in determining cause of death.
    Mr. KLEIN. What is your specialty as a medical doctor?
    Dr. BADEN. My specialty is pathology and within that area, forensic pathology.
    Mr. KLEIN. What is forensic pathology?
    Dr. BADEN. Pathology is that area of medicine concerned with the investigation and evaluation of natural disease and other abnormalities in the human body; and forensic pathology specifically
 

181 

refers and relates to investigation of unnatural death and to areas of pathology and medicine that are concerned with legal aspects of death and injury, and ability to present these materials in courts and other jurisdictions.
    Mr. KLEIN. Prior to serving on the panel, did you have any
contact with the Kennedy case?
    Dr. BADEN. No, I had not.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that this document marked JFK F-19 be received as a committee exhibit and shown to the witness.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, it may be received as a committee exhibit and entered into the record at this point.
[The above-referred-to exhibit, JFK F-19, follows:] 

182 

        JFK EXHIBIT F-19  

LISTING OF MATERIALS PROVIDED TO THE PATHOLOGY PANEL BY
        THE SELECT COMMITTEE - JOHN F. KENNEDY 

1.   AUTOPSY AND RELATED MATERIALS 

Autopsy Protocol  11-22-63
Supplementary Autopsy Report   
12-6-63 Notes of Dr. James J. Humes   
11-23-63 Autopsy Descriptive Sheet   
11-22-63 Death Certificate   
11-22-63 Authorization for Post-Mortem Examination Report of Inquest     12-6-63
Original autopsy photographs
Original autopsy X-rays
Comparison X-rays 1960-63 

11-22-63 

Clothing worn at time of assassination LogaTronic X-ray enhancements of original X-rays Aerospace Corporation computer enhancements of original
X-rays and photographs 1966 Index by Drs. Humes, Boswell, Ebersole and Stringer 1967 Report by Drs. Humes, Boswell and Finck Dr. Finck's notes
Dr. Finck's 1965 report Dr. Finck's 1967 Review
Dr. Finck's Testimony - State of Louisiana v. Clay L. Shaw 

2.  WARREN COMMISSION TESTIMONY 

Dr. James J. Humes
Dr. Pierre A. Finck
Dr. Thornton Boswell
Dr. Malcolm O. Perry
Dr. Martin G. White
Dr. Paul C. Peters
Dr. Adolph A. Giesecke, Jr.
Dr. William K. Clark
Dr. Don T. Curtis
Dr. Fuoad A. Bashour
Dr. Gene C. Atkin
Dr. Charles J. Carrico
Dr. Charles R. Baxter
Rufus W. Youngblood
Clinton Hill
Roy H. Kellerman
William. Greet
 

Listing of Materials Provided to the Pathology Panel by The Select Committee - John F. Kennedy 

3.  STAFF INTERVIEWS 

Dr. Norman Chase
Dr. William Seaman
Dr. Malcolm O. Perry
Dr. C. James Carrico
Dr. Marion T. Jenkins
Admiral George Burkley, M.D.
Dr. John Lattimer 

4.  BALLISTICS MATERIALS 

Bullets and bullet fragments
Rifle Cartridges 

5.  SECRET SERVICE REPORT 

Bullet trajectories 

6.  FBI REPORTS 

Harper skull fragment
Examination of clothing
Autopsy 

183 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-19 cont. 

7.   REPORTS 

Dr. David O. Davis
Dr. Gerald M. McDonnel Dr. John Nichols
Soft X-ray and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis of Clothing prepared by Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences at Dallas J. Lawrence Angel - October 24, 1977 Clark Panel - 1968 Rockefeller Panel - 1975 

Parkland medical reports 

8.  ARTICLES BY:
Dr. Cyril H. Wecht Dr. John K. Lattimer 

9. MOTION PICTURE FILMS AND SLIDES 

Zapruder film
Nix film
Single frame pictures of Zapruder film
Film and slide presentation given by Robert Groden Harper fragment
 

184 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that document?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I do.
    Mr. KLEIN. What is that?
    Dr. BADEN. It is a listing, three pages, of various medical and other materiels provided to members of the medical panel in evaluating the cause of death of President Kennedy.
    Mr. KLEIN. Using that document, would you tell the committee how the panel went about its examination of the evidence in this case?
    Dr. BADEN. The panel initially consisted of a group of forensic pathologists who had previously seen the archival materiels and a group that had not. Prior to the meeting of each panel separately, the doctors were provided with various printed materials including copies of the autopsy report, and medical findings and evidence relating to the death of President Kennedy from Parkland Hospital, Warren Commission testimony, and from the Clark and Rockefeller panels. Each member of the panel reviewed these
materials, then met individually and collectively at the National Archives where each member reviewed all of the photographic illustrations taken prior to and during the autopsy of the President, all X-rays taken prior to and during the autopsy of the President, the clothing that the President wore at the time of the shooting, various related ballistics material, including a rifle, cartridge shell casings and bullets, and bullet fragments preserved at the Archives.
    These are some of the material, listed in these three pages that each member reviewed.
    Mr. KLEIN. After meeting at the Archives, did other material become available to the panel?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, in the course of their discussions various panel members suggested additional materials and studies to assist and aid in clarifications of issues and questions that arose after examining the materials provided.
    And in this regard, various types of expertise were made available to the panel members, much relating to interpretation of the Xrays taken of the President at the time of the autopsy.
    The X-rays were subjected to various techniques that clarified images. The panel members had opportunity to consult with and read reports from various radiologists who are physicians who specialize in taking and interpreting X-rays. The panel did have opportunity to view closely the Zapruder film and sections from the Zapruder film. Studies were requested of soft X-rays and authentication and other studies were performed to assist the panel members in gathering whatever data could be gathered to arrive at conclusions as to the medical aspects of the death.
    Mr. KLEIN. Are the members of the panel experienced in evaluating such materials to determine such things as cause of death, number and location of wounds and bullet tracts?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. The full-time occupation of each panel member has been or is investigation of deaths, particularly unnatural deaths, to determine cause of death, every day in the various jurisdictions that the panel members represent.
    This is something that is the normal working procedure of each of the doctors assembled.
 

185 

    Mr. KLEIN. Can you give us an approximation of how many autopsies the various members of the panel collectively have performed or been responsible for?
    Dr. BADEN. In reviewing the jurisdictions and the length of service of the doctors on the panel, I would estimate that well more than 100,000 medico legal autopsies have been performed or supervised by the panel members collectively in the course of their official capacities.
    Mr. KLEIN. What, if any, relevant materials could not be made available to the panel?
    Dr. BADEN. The specific relevant materials not available to the panel have already been mentioned by Professor Blakey pertaining to further examination of brain tissue and microscopic slides.
    However, the doctors who performed the autopsy were made available for interview to the panel members and responded on short notice at the very initial meeting of the first panel so that Dr. Humes, Dr. Boswell, subsequently Dr. Ebersole and Dr. Finck were interviewed by the panel members; transcripts were made of the interviews and made available to all the members, especially the interview with Drs. Humes and Boswell at which the second panel members were not present.
    Mr. KLEIN. Despite the absence of the brain and the fact that the panel doctors were not present at the autopsy, were the panel members able to reach conclusions with respect to the cause of death, the number of wounds, the location of the wounds, and the path of the bullets through the body?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir.
    Mr. KLEIN. Are you testifying today as a representative of the
entire panel of forensic pathologists?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I am.
    Mr. KLEIN. Did any members of the panel disagree with the conclusions reached by the panel?
    Dr. BADEN. The essential conclusions were unanimously agreed to by eight of the panel members. One panel member, Dr. Wecht, did dissent in some important aspects of the conclusions.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, since Dr. Wecht will be testifying before the committee today, I will ask you from this point on to confine your testimony to the conclusions reached by the other members of the panel.
    Dr. BADEN. Yes.
    Mr. KLEIN. What was the cause of death of President John F. Kennedy?
    Dr. BADEN. President Kennedy died as a result of two gunshot wounds of the head, brain, back and neck areas of the body.
    Mr. KLEIN. At this point, Mr. Chairman, I would ask that the drawing marked JFK F-20 be received as a committee exhibit and shown to the witness.
Mr. DoDD [presiding]. Without objection, so ordered.
[The above-referred-to document, JFK exhibit F-20, follows:]
 

186 

        JFK EXHIBIT F-20 

    Mr. KLEIN. I would also ask at this point that Dr. Baden be allowed to move over to the 'area where the exhibits are shown because a good number of the exhibits will be drawings and diagrams.
    Mr. DODD. Dr. Baden, there is a microphone over there for you as well, if you could put that on your tie.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that drawing?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I do.
    Mr. KLEIN. What is that drawing of?
    Dr. BADEN. This a drawing done by Miss Dox of one of the autopsy photographs taken just prior to the autopsy of President Kennedy.
    Mr. KLEIN. What does that particular drawing portray?
    Dr. BADEN. This particular drawing shows the back of the President and the head where I am pointing to, and a perforation of the skin of the right upper back with, a centimeter ruler alongside.



 

187 

     Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, does this diagram fairly and accurately repre-
sent the location of the wound in the President's upper right back?
     Dr. BADEN. Yes, it does.
     Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that this photograph marked JFK F-21 and the blown up photograph marked JFK F-22 be received as committee exhibits.
     Mr. DODD. Without objection, so ordered.
    [JFK exhibit F-21 is an 8 by 10 photograph derived from one of the original autopsy photographs and depicts a portion of the back and posterior head of President Kennedy. In deciding to release the autopsy photographs, the committee wished to permit public examination of the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy photographs to the public in either drawings that represent large areas of the President's body as seen in the photograph or closely cropped photographs that depict the most important areas of evidentiary concern. The committee used photographs such as JFK exhibit F-21 in the hearings only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the drawings and closely cropped photographs; these photographs are not being published. The original autopsy photographs and committee copies are in the custody of the National Archives.]
[The above-referred-to document, exhibit JFK F-22, follows:]
 

188 

        JFK EXHIBIT F-22 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that photograph and that blowup?
    Dr. BADEN. The photograph, an 8 by 10 black and white photograph, that I have in my hand is an enlarged detail from one of the autopsy photographs showing the perforation in the right upper back region seen on the diagram; the exhibit alongside is a blowup of the perforation in the right upper back as seen in this photograph.
    Mr. KLEIN. So, the blowup is of the wound in the back of the President on the right; is that correct?


 

189 

    Dr. BADEN. That's correct, and this diagram is a diagrammatic representation of this photograph.
    Mr. KLEIN. Did the panel have an opportunity to examine the original photograph from which that blowup was made?
    Dr. BADEN. The panel had the opportunity and exercised the opportunity to examine, with magnifying lenses, photographs, negatives, transparencies of all of the material available at the Archives.
    Mr. KLEIN. And using that blowup, would you please explain to the committee what the panel learned from the photograph of the wound on the President's back?
    Dr. BADEN. The panel was able to conclude after examining the photographs and the details of the perforation in the right upper back, that this perforation was a gunshot wound of entrance and is characterized uniquely by an abrasion collar, a roughening of the edges around the entrance perforation, which is more apparent in the photographs than the blowup, but which clearly depicts and identifies the perforation as an entrance gunshot wound.
    Mr. KLEIN. At this time, Mr. Chairman, I would ask that two diagrams marked JFK F-23 and F-24 be received as committee exhibits.
    Mr. DODD. Without objection.
    [The above-referred-to documents, JFK F-23 and JFK F-24, follow:]
 

190 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-23
 

   191 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-24 

    Mr. DODD. I would point out while this is occurring, we are missing some members. There is a quorum call going on and they will be coming in and coming out as votes and quorum calls occur during the day.
You may proceed, counsel.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, using JFK F-23 and F-24, the two diagrams, would you please explain what an abrasion collar is?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes. An abrasion collar is characteristic of an entrance wound produced when a bullet, as seen in these diagrams made by Miss Dox, penetrates the skin from outside the body. The outer surface of the skin here, the epidermis, is depicted darker than the inner tissues underneath; the diagram shows the bullet entering at a 90ø angle to the skin, with initial stretching of the outer layer of skin, and rubbing of the bullet against the skin surface as it perforates the over stretched skin causing, after the bullet has passed through and the skin has returned to its normal unstretched condition, a rough, abraded margin of the outer layer of the skin which has a typical darker appearance as in the photographs of President Kennedy. This is referred to as an abrasion collar because it immediately surrounds the perforation of the skin. It tells the forensic pathologists that it was caused by a bullet entering the body and rubbing against the outside of the skin. 

192 

    When a bullet exits the body through the skin, proceeding from inside the body to the outside, it does not cause, usually, except under special circumstances, this same type of rubbing effect on the edges of the skin.
    In this other diagram that Miss Dox has prepared is an example of a bullet entering the skin at an angle. When the bullet enters at an angle, the skin is stretched prior to perforation unequally so that one part of the abrasion collar is wider than another part and this produces a perforation that is assymetric and indicates directionality; thus the abrasion collar establishes not only that it is an entrance wound but also the direction that the bullet is traveling.
    When a bullet enters head-on at a 90ø angle, the abrasion collar surrounding is equal, uniformly equal. When it enters at an angle, part of the abrasion collar is wider than the other part and this assists in establishing direction of the bullet track.
    Mr. KLEIN. And the panel found an abrasion collar on the wound of the President's back of the kind you have shown us in these drawings?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. This represents a diagram, a blowup of the actual entrance perforation of the skin showing an abrasion collar. The abrasion collar is wider toward 3 o'clock than toward 9 o'clock which would indicate a directionality from right to left and toward the middle part of the body, which was the impression of the doctors on reviewing the photographs initially at the Archives.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that the shirt, jacket, and tie, marked JFK F-25, F-26, and F-27, be received as committee exhibits.
    Mr. DODD. Without objection.
    [The above-referred-to exhibits, JFK F-25, F-26, and F-27, were received as committee exhibits and photographs made for the record.]
 

193 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-25


 

      194 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-26


 

195 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-27

 

196 

    Mr. KLEIN. And shown to the witness. Doctor, do you recognize that clothing?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I do, Mr. Klein.
    Mr. KLEIN. Where have you seen that?
    Dr. BADEN. This clothing was examined by me and by each of the panel members at the Archives where the clothing is kept, preserved, and guarded.
    Mr. KLEIN. Whose clothing is that and where did it come from?
    Dr. BADEN. This is the clothing worn by President Kennedy at the time of the assassination and does show various perforations in the fabric that were of importance for the medical panel to evaluate.
    Present on the mannequin is the jacket and shirt and tie. The jacket and the clothing had been torn at Parkland Hospital by the examining physicians in the course of providing emergency care to the President.
    Mr. KLEIN. And with respect to the wounds to the President's back, what did the panel learn from that clothing?
    Dr. BADEN. In the jacket and the underlying shirt there is a perforation of the fabric that corresponds directly with the location of the perforation of the skin of the right upper back that, the panel concluded, was an entrance gunshot perforation that entered the back of the President.
This is correspondingly seen in the shirt beneath.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I ask that this X-ray marked JFK F-28, this X-ray marked JFK F-29, as well as two blowups marked JFK F-30 and F-31, be received as committee exhibits.
    Mr. DODD. Without objection.
    [JFK exhibits F-28 and F-29 are two of the original 14 autop X-rays kept at the National Archives. They depict the neck and upper chest of President Kennedy. In deciding to release the autosy X-rays the committee wished to permit public examination the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy X-rays to the public in a cropped fashion. In the hearings the  committee used the original X-rays only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the cropped counterparts; the entire original X-rays are not being published.]
    [The above-referred-to exhibits, JFK F-30 and JFK F-31, we received as committee exhibits.]


 

     197 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-30

 

198 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-31
 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize those blowups and those X-rays?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes; these X-rays that I hold are 2 of the 14 X-rays kept at the National Archives and identified to the members of the panel by the radiologist who took the X-rays, Dr. Ebersole. In personal interview Dr. Ebersole told the panel members that the 14 X-rays are the same ones he personally took and received at the time of the autopsy and that he took no other X-rays. These two have been previously labeled 8 and 9 with red tags by Dr. Ebersole

 

199 

who did not indicate the sequence in which the X-rays were taken when he numbered them.
    The blowups are enlargements of portions of the X-rays. The one I am pointing to labeled 9 shows the chest and neck of the President. This area is the lower neck, this is the upper chest, the right lung, the left lung, a portion of the heart shadow; the other X-ray blowup is of archival X-ray No. 8, which was taken after the autopsy had begun and shows the lower neck, the right side of the neck and the upper ribs and spine of President Kennedy.
    Mr. KLEIN. What did the panel learn from those X-rays?
    Dr. BADEN. The X-rays show, first, that there is no missile present in the body at the time the X-rays were taken. This X-ray, No. 9, was taken before the autopsy, this one, No. 8, during the autopsy. Further, there is evidence of injury to the right of the neck  with air and gas shadows, in the right side of the neck and an irregularity of one of the spines, a portion of one spine of the President; that is, the first thorasic vertebra which is, also apparent on the blowup and which the panel, and in consultation with the radiology experts, concluded represents a fracture-type injury to that vertebra.
    Mr. KLEIN. Are those X-rays consistent with the bullet having passed through the President's body?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. They are consistent with the bullet passing through and no longer being present.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time I ask that these reports marked JFK F-32-F-35 be received as exhibits and shown to the witness.
    Mr. DODD. Without objection, so ordered.
    [The above-referred-to exhibits, JFK F-32-JFK F-35 were received as committee exhibits.]

 

200 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-32 

201 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-32 cont. 

202 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-32 cont. 

203 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-32 cont. 

204 

       JFK EXHIBIT F-33
 

205 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-33 cont.
 

206 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-33 cont.
 

207 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-33 cont. 

208 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-33 cont.
 

209 

       JFK EXHIBIT F-34
 

210 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-34 cont.
 

211 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-34 cont.
 

212 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-35


213 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-35 cont.


214 

     JFK EXHIBIT F-35 cont.
 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, looking at those reports, do you recognize them?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. These are reports of the X-rays from physician experts consulted by the panel members and submitted to us for review and incorporation into our conclusions as to the medical aspects of the death of the President.
    Mr. KLEIN. What were the names of the doctors to whom you submitted the X-rays?
    Dr. BADEN. The doctors are Dr. David Davis, who is chairman of the Radiology Department at George Washington University here in Washington and who has been extremely helpful to the panel in interpreting the X-rays and who has worked with us in making diagrams to illustrate the injuries seen on X-ray.
    Dr. Norman Chase, who is chairman of the Radiology Department at New York University, Bellevue Medical Center. Dr. William Seaman, chairman of the Department of Radiology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. And Dr. McDonnel of Los Angeles, Calif, Department of Radiology, Hospital of the Good Samaritan, who performed various specialized tests on the X-rays for the benefit of the panel.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, were the reports of these experts consistent with the panel's evaluation of the JFK X-rays?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir; they were consistent and gave additional evidence to the panel for reaching its conclusions.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that the
drawing marked JFK F-36 be received as a committee exhibit.
    Mr. DODD. Without objection, so ordered.
[The above-referred-to document, JFK F-36, follows:]



 

215 

       JFK EXHIBIT F-36 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that drawing?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, this is a drawing of a photograph taken prior to the beginning of the autopsy of the President showing the neck region, the upper chest region, and a wound in the front of the neck.
    Mr. KLEIN. Does this diagram fairly and accurately represent the
location of the wound on the front of the President's neck? Dr. BADEN. Yes, it does.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that this cropped photograph marked JFK F-37 and the blowup marked JFK F-38 be received as committee exhibits and shown to the witness.
    Chairman STOKES [presiding]. Without objection, it may be entered into the record at this point.
    [JFK exhibit F-37 is an 8 by 10 photograph derived from one of the original autopsy photographs and depicts the injury to the front of the neck of the President. In deciding to release the autopsy photographs, the committee wished to permit public examination of the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy photographs to the public in either drawings that represent large
areas of the President's body as seen in the photograph or closely cropped photographs that depict the most important areas of evidentiary concern. The committee used photographs such as JFK F-37 in the hearings only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the drawings and closely cropped photographs; these photographs are not



 

216 

being published. The original autopsy photographs and committee copies are in the custody of the National Archives.]
[The above-referred-to document, JFK F-38, follows:] 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-38 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that photograph and that blowup?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. The black and white 8 by 10 photograph I have in my hand is from a photograph taken of the President at the time of the autopsy and the blowup is a detail from that








 

217 

photograph showing the injury to the front of the neck as depicted in the drawing before us.
    Mr. KLEIN. Using the blowup, would you tell us what the panel learned from the photograph?
    Dr. BADEN. The panel learned from the photograph that a tracheostomy, incision, an incision to aid the dying President in breathing, had been made on the front of the neck at the hospital and is a typical type of tracheostomy incision; and the panel also noted a semicircular defect at the lower margin of that tracheostomy which required further evaluation.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, in speaking to and reading the reports of the doctors who attended President Kennedy after he was shot, in Parkland Hospital, did you learn any further information about that wound of the neck?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes. In the reports made available to us from prior testimony, prior medical reports, and from current interviews with the doctors, it is apparent that there was a perforation, a perforating wound, of the front of the neck present when the President was received at Parkland Hospital; and that the tracheostomy incision, the incision to put in a breathing tube, was made through that perforation of the skin and did modify and change the hole in the manner seen here from a circular hole to a semicircle, that remains.
     Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, directing your attention to the clothing already received as exhibits, would you tell us what the panel learned from that clothing with respect to the wound of the President's neck? 
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. On examining the clothing of the President, there is present in the left upper portion of the shirt, just beneath the left shirt collar, a slit-like tear. This slit-like tear corresponds directly with the area of perforation in the anterior neck seen on the photographs taken prior to the autopsy and is characteristic of a bullet perforation of exit in which the perforation is not necessarily as round as the entrance perforation.
    The entrance perforation on the back is a round perforation typical for an entrance wound. The perforation in the front of the shirt, slit-like, is typical for an exit perforation of a missile.
    There is also associated with this tear in the shirt fabric a tear or nick of the tie the President was wearing, which corresponds to that same area of the body when the tie is made into a knot as he was wearing at the time of the shooting.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, in addition to examining the foregoing evidence, did the panel have an opportunity to examine the autopsy protocol report, the autopsy descriptive sheet, and the autopsy supplementary report?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that these three reports marked JFK F-42 through F-44 be received as exhibits and shown to the witness, and F-45, an enlargement of F-44.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, they may be received and entered into the record at this point.
[The above-referred-to exhibits, JFK F-42 to JFK F-44, follow:]



 

218 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-42

 

219 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-42 cont.

220 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-42 cont.

221 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-42 cont.

222 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-42 cont.
 

223 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-42 cont.
 

224 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-42 cont.
 

225 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-43
226 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-43 cont.
 

227 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-43 cont.
 

228 

            JFK EXHIBIT F-44

229 

      JFK EXHIBIT F-44 cont.


230 

    Mr. KLEIN. Do you recognize these reports, Doctor?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes. These are copies of reports that the panel had opportunity to see and examine. The panel members then had the opportunity to question the persons who prepared the reports.
    Mr. KLEIN. Who prepared those reports?
    Dr. BADEN. The autopsy reports of President Kennedy were prepared by Dr. Humes and Dr. Boswell, who were the autopsy physicians.
    Mr. KLEIN. When were they prepared?
    Dr. BADEN. They were prepared during the course of, and in the 2 days following, the performance of the autopsy with the written portions prepared the day following the autopsy.
    Mr. KLEIN. When was the supplementary report prepared?
    Dr. BADEN. The supplementary report was prepared 2 weeks later and describes the brain after fixation in formaldehyde, which is a customary way of preparing the brain prior to further examination, and also describes the findings on microscopic examination of various tissues of the President. These two types of study do take time in the normal course of an autopsy and such reports are prepared some time after the initial autopsy.
    Mr. KLEIN, With respect to the wounds of the upper right back and the front of the neck, what did the autopsy report conclude?
    Dr. BADEN. The autopsy report concludes that there was a gunshot perforation of entrance in the right upper back and that the exit wound was in the front of the neck.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, on the basis of the foregoing evidence, photos and X-rays taken at the autopsy, the examination of the President's clothing, the reports of radiologists, interviews of the surgeons who attended the President at Parkland Hospital, and the autopsy report, did the panel unanimously conclude that a bullet entered the upper right back of the President and exited from the front of his neck?
    Dr. BADEN. Every member of the panel so concluded.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time I would ask that the drawing marked JFK F-46 be received as a committee exhibit.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, it may be received and entered into the record at this point.
    [The above-mentioned document, JFK exhibit F-46, a drawing, follows:]

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  JFK EXHIBIT F-46 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that drawing?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I do.
    Mr. KLEIN. What does that show?
    Dr. BADEN. This is a drawing prepared by Miss Dox with the medical panel of the upper portion of the President showing the track that the bullet took through the back, exiting the neck adjacent to the spine, and through the windpipe (or trachea) in the neck; it shows the direction of the bullet path in the body. This path can be produced by various bullet trajectories, depending on the position of the President at the time the missile struck. On your right, there are three positions of the head of the President all showing the same bullet track and direction within the body, going from the back to the exit in the neck, that could be inflicted by a bullet traveling upward, approximately horizontally, or downward.
    Each of these trajectories could produce the autopsy findings as depicted on the left and cause a similar track within the body itself.
    We cannot on the basis of the autopsy  findings alone, in this instance, determine from whence the bullet came.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that the drawing marked JFK F-47 be received as a committee exhibit.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, it may be entered into the record at this point.
[The above-mentioned document, JFK exhibit F-47 follows:]

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  JFK EXHIBIT F-47


 

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    Mr. KLEIN. Do you recognize that drawing, Doctor?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir; I recognize this as a drawing made for the Warren Commission depicting the same track from back to front neck region that we have been describing.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, does that drawing made for the  Warren Commission fairly and accurately represent the location of the entry wound and the exit wound and the path of the bullet?
    Dr. BADEN. Not precisely, The exit perforation in the neck is
approximately at the proper area, but the entrance wound in the back is higher than   the medical panel concluded from examining the documents, the photographs as to the point of entrance. We place the entrance perforation a bit lower almost 2 inches lower  

          Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that the drawing marked JFK F-48 be received as a committee exhibit.
     Chairman STOKES. Without objection, it may be entered into the record at this point.
[The above-mentioned document, JFK exhibit F-48, follows:]



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  JFK EXHIBIT F-48 

    Mr. KLEIN. Do you recognize that drawing, Doctor?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir.
    Mr. KLEIN. What does that drawing depict?
    Dr. BADEN. This is a drawing made from photographs taken at the time of the autopsy showing the back of the President's head and showing a ruler adjacent to an area of discoloration in the cowlick area of the back of the head of the scalp, which the panel determined was an entrance perforation, an entrance bullet perforation; this also shows portions of fractures of the skull of the

 

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President caused by this gunshot wound and a fragment of dried tissue near the hairline of the President.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, does this drawing fairly and accurately represent the location of the wound in the back of the President's head?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, it does, in the unanimous  opinion of all of the panel members.  
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask that the photographs marked JFK F-49A and F-49B and the blowups marked JFK F-50 and F-51 be received as committee exhibits.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, they may be entered into the record at this point.
    [JFK exhibits F-49A and F-49B are 8 by 10 photographs derived from the original autopsy photographs and depict posterior views of the head of the President. In deciding to release the autopsy photographs, the committee wished to permit public examination of the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy photographs to the public in either drawings that represent large areas
of the President's body as seen in the photograph or closely cropped photographs that depict the most important areas of evidentiary concern. The committee used photographs such as JFK F-49A and F-49B in the hearings only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the drawings and closely cropped photographs; these photgraphs are not being published. The original autopsy photographs and committee copies are in the custody of the National Archives.] [The above-mentioned documents, JFK F-50, and F-51, follow:]
 

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  JFK EXHIBIT F-50
 

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  JFK EXHIBIT F-51 

    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir; I have the 8 by 10 photographs.
    Mr. KLEIN. Do you recognize those photographs and those blowups?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, Mr. Klein.
    Mr. KLEIN. Would you tell us what they are?
    Dr. BADEN. The two photographs I have, 8 by 10 glossy prints, have been prepared from the original photographs in the Archives and show enlargement of the perforation in the cowlick area of the scalp, which is represented on your extreme right in this area; the detail in the photograph is much superior to the blowup detail.
    Also depicted in the center is the area in the lower back of the head which I referred to as dry tissue. This is depicted in the middle photograph. These are both enlargements of the actual photographs taken prior to the autopsy of the President.       
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, using those blowups, would you please explain to the committee what the panel learned from those photographs?
    Dr. BADEN. The panel did learn and conclude from the photographs and close examination under magnification of the transpar-
 

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encies, and other materials in the Archives, that without question,
the superior more area under consideration is a typical gunshot
wound of entrance and that it corresponded in many of its features
very closely with the gunshot wound of entrance in the right upper
back, especially as to the appearance of the abrasion collar and as
to its size.
    The panel further concluded that the lower more area under
question is clearly extraneous dried brain  tissue on top of scalp
hair.
    Mr. Klein.  Mr. Chairman, I would ask that this X-ray deemed
marked JFK F-54 as well as the blowups marked "JFK F-52,"
"JFK F-53." and "JFK F-297" be received as committee exhibits
and shown to the witness.
   Chairman STOKES. Without objection.
[Documents handed to the witness for his inspection.]
[JFK exhibit F-54 is one of the original 14 autopsy X-rays kept
at the National Archives. It depicts a lateral or side view of the President and is labeled "No. 2" In deciding to release the autopsy X-rays the committee wished to permit public examination of the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy X-rays to the public in a cropped fashion. In the hearings the committee used the original X-rays only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the cropped counterparts; the entire original X-rays are not being published.] [The above-referred-to JFK exhibits F-52, F-53, and F-297 were marked as committee exhibits and received into the record, and follow:]

239 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-52

 

240 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-53 

241 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-297
 

    Mr. KLEIN. Do you recoginze those X-rays and those blowups?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I do. 
    This is X-ray labeled "No. 2" by the tag applied by Dr. Ebersole and identified to the panel members by Dr. Ebersole as an X-ray he took at the time of the autopsy of President Kennedy; it shows a side view of the President's head and is preserved in the Archives. This is an enlarged copy of that specific X-ray showing a side view of the skull of the President with the back of the head to your left, the front of the head to your right. Because of the difficulty interpreting some of the subtle features on the X-ray, the X-rays were further examined using enhancement techniques to increase the image contrast. This is a computerized enhancement on your right of the same X-ray showing the same structures but bringing out some of the details of the X-ray more clearly by the enhancement techniques.
    Mr. KLEIN. What did the panel learn from those X-rays?
    Dr. BADEN. The panel learned from these X-rays that there was extensive fracturing of the bones of the skull of the President as manifested by these various lines and irregularities, that there was displacement of some bony fragments as a result of this explosive type injury to the skull as seen on the X-ray, and that there are many small white areas in the X-ray film that are metallic fragments resulting from a bullet having passed through the skull and fragmenting to some small degree.
    Mr. KLEIN. Are those X-rays consistent with a bullet having entered the President's head high on top of the head and passed through?

 

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    Dr. BADEN. Yes sir. This is clearly demonstrated in these X-rays, and as comparison, the X-ray on the extreme left is an X-ray taken of President Kennedy during life showing the normal appearance of the skull with the various skull bones in their normal appearance and illustrates the extensive damage of the skull present at the time of the autopsy.
    The panel concluded, and all of theradiologist consultants with whom the panel spoke with and met with, all concluded that without question there is an entrance bullet hole on the upper portion of the skull at the area I am pointing to where the bone itself has been displaced, and that this corresponds precisely with the point in the cowlick area on the overlying skin has the appearance of an entrance wound, that the track of the bullet then proceeded from back to front and toward the right causing extensive damage to the head.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that this original X-ray marked "JFK F-57" as well as two blowups marked "JFK F-55" and "JFK F-56" be received as committee exhibits.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, they may be received.
    [JFK exhibit F-57 is one of the original 14 autopsy X-rays kept at the National Archives. It depicts an anterior-posterior view of the skull. In deciding to release the autopsy X-rays the committee wished to permit public examination of the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy X-rays to the public in a Cropped fashion. In the hearings the committee used the original X-rays only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the cropped counterparts; the entire original X-rays are not being published.]
    [The above-referred-to exhibits "JFK F-55" and "JFK F-56" were marked committee exhibits and received into the record and follow:]



 

243 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-55



 

          244 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-56 

    Dr. BADEN. For orientation, this is the back of the skull, front of the skull, the eye area, pituitary gland, the ear bones.
    Mr. Klein, what I have just been given is an X-ray from the Archives viewed by the panel at the Archives with the label in red "No. 1" affixed.
    Mr. KLEIN. Would you briefly tell us, using the blowups, what the panel learned from these X-rays?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, this is an antero-posterior view of the skull-that is, taken with the back of the head directly against the X-ray film. These are true enlargements of portions of those X-rays.
    Mr. KLEIN. Are these X-rays consistent with a bullet having passed through the President's head?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes; there is extensive damage to the right side of the skull area, shown more clearly in the enhancement of the X-




 

245 

ray, and there are extensive fracture lines radiating from the point of entrance marked by this relatively large metal fragment and the X-ray lines extending from it. This corresponds precisely to the point of entrance beneath the cowlick area and shows the extensive loss of bone at that area.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time I ask that the drawing marked "JFK F-58" be received as an exhibit and shown to the witness.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, it may be received at this point.
[The above-referred-to exhibit "JFK F-58" follows:] 

   JFK EXHIBIT F-58 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that drawing?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes; this is a drawing prepared with the panel and Miss Dox showing a side view of the President's skull and showing the point that the panel agreed was the exit point for the gunshot wound that entered the back of the head; this exit perforation is on the right front side of the head of the President.




 

246 

    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that this photograph and the blowup marked "JFK F-59" and "JFK F-60" be received as committee exhibits and shown to the witness.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, they may be received at this point.
    [JFK exhibit F-59 is an 8 by 10 photograph derived from one of the original autopsy photographs and depicts the area of bone injury on the right side of the head. In deciding to release the autopsy photographs, the committee wished to permit public examination of the most important details of evidentiary significance while still maintaining a sense of propriety. In accordance with this desire, the committee decided to display the autopsy photographs to the public in either drawings that represent large
areas of the President's body as seen in the photograph or closely cropped photographs that depict the most important areas of evidentiary concern. The committee used photographs such as JFK F-59 in the hearings only to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the drawings and closely cropped photographs; these photographs are not being published. The original autopsy photographs and committee copies are in the custody of the National Archives.] [The above-referred-to exhibit JFK F-60 follows:]

 

247 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-60 

    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that photograph and that blowup?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes; this is a detail of one of the autopsy photographs, in fact the only photograph that shows any internal structures of the President at the time of autopsy as opposed to all of the other photographs which are of the outside of the body. This photograph shows the bullet exit area on the right side of the head and is seen in better detail and sharper on the photograph than in the blowup. The photograph shows the front right part of the skull


 

248 

of the President and the semicircular defect that I am pointing to corresponds with the black dot present on the previous exhibit. This is a portion of a gunshot wound of exit as determined by the panel because of the beveling of the outer layer of bone visible in the photographs, which is also described in the autopsy report.  Beveling refers to the breaking away of bone in a concave pattern as when a BB goes through plate glass causing a concavity in the glass in the direction in which the BB is proceeding. 
    This also happens when a bullet enters and exits skull bone and other bones. It is the conclusion of the panel that this is unquestionably an exit perforation.
    Mr. KLEIN. Does the beveling allow you to make a determination whether it is an entry or exit perforation?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes. When a bullet strikes bone, expecially flat bone such as the skull, the entrance into the bone is sharp and the exit from the bone is beveled. The bone breaks and bevels in the direction that the bullet is going and we are then able to tell as here, because the beveling is on the outside of the skull, on the right side, that the bullet traveled from within the skull to the outside causing this characteristic change in the bone where the bullet exited.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that the blowup marked "JFK F-64" be received as a committee exhibit.
    Chairman. STOKES. Without objection, it may be received at this point.
[The above-referred-to exhibit JFK F-64 follows:]
 

249 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-64 

      Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, do you recognize that blowup?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes sir, this is a blowup of one of the X-rays, one of the 14 X-rays kept at the Archives, showing 3 fragments of bone received by Dr. Humes and Dr. Boswell in the autopsy room while they were performing the autopsy on the President, that had been retrieved from the limousine in which the President had been riding. The doctors looked at the bone fragments, took X-rays of the bone fragments, inserted this particular bone fragment against this semicircle and concluded that they matched and fitted together. On this larger triangular fragment there is at one edge metal fragments seen on the X-ray that the panel concluded, and the autopsy physicians concluded, were part of the exit perforation

 

250 

through the bone and that there is beveling on this bony fragment of the outer aspect of the bone. In addition, a portion of a suture line is also present on one edge of this fragment.
    A suture line refers to the point at which two bones join. This suture line assisted the panel in precisely identifying from where the fragment derived. The panel concluded that this was part of the gunshot wound of exit of the right side of the head of the President.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, directing your attention to the autopsy reports which have already been received as exhibits, in what ways was the autopsy report consistent with the other evidence available with respect to the wound to the President's head?
    Dr. BADEN. The autopsy reports did indicate that the gunshot wound of the head of the President came from behind, proceeded in a forward direction, and exited the right side of the skull. This is consistent with the findings of the panel.
    Mr. KLEIN. In what ways was the autopsy report not consistant with the other evidence available to the panel?
    Dr. BADEN. The location and placement of the gunshot wound of entrance was significantly different on examination by the panel members than the autopsy pathologists had indicated. The panel members unanimously placed the gunshot wound of entrance in the back of the President's head approximately 4 inches above the point indicated in the autopsy report prepared by Drs. Humes and Boswell.
    Mr. KLEIN. So the panel concluded that the autopsy report placed the wound in the back of the head 4 inches too low?
    Dr. BADEN. That is correct; as recorded in the original autopsy.
    Mr. KLEIN. Doctor, on the basis of the foregoing evidence, the photographs and X-rays taken of the autopsy, the reports of the radiologists and the autopsy report, did the panel unanimously conclude that a bullet entered the President high on the back of his head and exited on the right side toward the front of his head?
    Dr. BADEN. All nine members of the panel so unanimously concluded.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, I would ask that two drawings marked "JFK F-65" and "JFK F-66" and the photograph marked "JFK F-67" be received as committee exhibits at this time.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, they may be received.
    [The above referred to exhibits, "JFK F-65," "JFK F-66," and "JFK F-67" follow:]

251 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-65

 

252 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-66

 

253 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-67 

    Mr. KLEIN. Do you recognize these exhibits, doctor?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, I do.
    Mr. KLEIN. What do they depict?
    Dr. BADEN. The drawings were prepared with Miss Dox and the members of the panel to illustrate the path of the gunshot wounds that struck the President. The photograph is Zapruder frame 312 and shows the President just before the explosion caused by the head shot.
    Mr. KLEIN. Do the diagrams fairly and accurately represent the path of the bullet which entered high on the back of the President's head and exited from the right side of the head toward the front?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, sir. One, the drawing to your right, indicates the path of the bullet entering the right upper head region approximately 1 inch to the right of the midline of the body and approximately 4 inches above a bony prominence in the back of the head, the external occipital protuberance which is depicted here.
    This bullet, then, proceeds from back to front exiting in the area of the suture line, that I mentioned earlier, the coronal suture line as depicted on the drawing, causing a semicircular defect in the frontal bone of the skull.
    This drawing does indicate that at the time of this injury to the back of the head there already existed in the body a bullet track of the right upper back region going from back to front exiting through the tracheostomy incision in the front of the neck.
    The other diagram, the other drawing, is an attempt to illustrate the direction of the gunshot wound and the damage done to the skull, utilizing the X-rays in great measure and the photographs taken at the autopsy procedure. This shows the entrance perforation in the upper posterior right side of the skull, and the bullet path proceeding forward causing extensive fractures of the skull bones on the right and then exiting the right front area.
    The four bone fragments illustrated in this diagram are drawn to scale in relation to each other, but not to the skull, utilizing the X-rays and photographs at the Archives. The three to your right are

 

254 

the fragments removed from the limousine of the President and brought to the autopsy doctors during the course of the autopsy; and the fourth fragment is a separate fragment found a few days later in Dealey Plaza and referred to as the Harper fragment.
    These four fragments did emanate from the large defect in the side of the President's head.
    The position of the President's head in both of these diagrams was derived from Zapruder frame 312, which, as I already mentioned, shows the position of the President just before the explosion of the head.
    Mr. KLEIN. Did the panel conclude that the direction of the bullet was downward?
    Dr. BADEN. Yes, in this instance the panel was able to arrive at a conclusion of the directionality from whence the bullet originated because of other evidence made available to the panel, notably, the Zapruder film showing the position of the head of the President at the moment of impact with the bullet.
    Mr. KLEIN. Mr. Chairman, at this time, I would ask that the drawing marked JFK F-68 be received as a committee exhibit.
    Chairman STOKES. Without objection, it may be received at this point.
[The above referred to JFK exhibit F-68 follows:]

 

255 

  JFK EXHIBIT F-68

 

256