Firearm Injuries

Rifled Weapon Wounds
Done by :
Salsabeel A. Matalqah
Rawan M. Jaradat
Rifles are long-barrelled guns that may be single-shot, bolt-
loaded or self-loading and used for hunting, target shooting
or for military purposes. The muzzle velocity varies greatly,
from 1500- 5000 feet/second.

Rifled weapons include handguns pistols and revolvers, and rifles.

Firearm injuries are regarded as a special form of blunt
trauma.

show increased amount of tissue destruction due to the
high velocities involved.

Usually have an entrance and exit wound unless bullet has
struck a bony area such as the skull.
The rifled weapon:
Bullet wound trajectory through JF Kennedy's
skull

Rifle weapons differ from shotguns in that:
1. they fire one projectile at a time
2. a thicker barrel that has spiral grooves machined on its
inner surface.
3. The elevations between the grooves are the 'lands',
which grip the bullet as it passes down the barrel and give
it a rotatory movement. This has a gyroscopic effect that
increases the stability of the bullet's trajectory and hence
the accuracy.
4. there is only one missile in each discharge.

The entrance wounds have the following characteristics:

1.Central defect the diameter approximates that of the penetrating
projectile. The head of the projectile causes tissue destruction on
impact, whilst the periphery suffers irreversible compression.

2.Ring of dirt due to black powder residue, gun oil or dirt rubbed off
the projectile during penetration, comes from the head of the bullet
not the body (which does not contact the wound edges).

3.Abrasion ring symmetrical, concentric ring around the central
defect during a head-on impact of the projectile.

4.Inverted edges - The skin moves away from the projectile, upon
impact. It bulges outward and the temporary entrance hole contracts
after the projectile passes through.
entrance wounds
The abrasion ring, and a very clear muzzle imprint,
are seen in this contact range gunshot wound.
Muzzle mark
local
burning of
the skin
Classification of Entrance
Wounds
We can classify rifle entrance wounds according to
the range of fire into:

Contact wound.
Close range wound (up to 20cm).
Intermediate wound(20cm-1m).
Distant range wound (over 1m).

Types of entrance wounds caused by rifled weapon:
I. Contact wounds:
When a weapon is fired in contact with the skin.
the appearances can vary :
a) according to whether the muzzle was firmly pressed against
the surface so as to form a tight seal, appears more like shotgun
b) loose contact, so that the backward jerk of recoil can permit a
small gap to appear.
Most rifled weapon ammunition is 'clean', compared with many
shotgun cartridges, so that soot may be absent altogether.
Contact wound over a bony support:

Usually ,the skull.

The muzzle gases entering the subcutaneous tissues cannot
expand by displacing adjacent soft structures and are reflected
from the bone to raise a dome of gas that often splits the entry
hole. This results in a linear, cruciate or stellate tear that may
well destroy the original puncture.

II. Close-range wounds:
When there is a short distance between the
muzzle and body surface.
The appearances of the wound will vary
accordingly to the type of ammunition used.
The wound appearance:
1. will almost invariably be circular .
2. No tearing
3. The wound edges may be inverted.
III. Medium-distance wounds:
once the discharge of a rifled weapon is greater than a
metre, there is nothing to indicate increasing range.

The typical appearance of the entry wound has been
likened to that caused by 'driving a dirty pencil through the
skin'.
Abrasion collar appearance .
The abrasion collar
Exit wounds from rifled weapons:
The muzzle velocity is important in determining whether
a single bullet will completely traverse the body.

In general, they are characterized by:
1. Usually larger than entrance wounds.
2. Irregularly shaped
3. Everted skin edges
4. No powder tattooing, soot soiling or stippling etc
5. May have abraded edges.

Exit wounds

Estimation of Shooting Distance:):

In forensic medicine, three ranges of fire are
distinguished according to morphological
criteria:
i. contact range
ii. short/close and medium/intermediate
range
iii. long/distant range.
19
Shotgun Wounds
What are gunshot
wounds?
Wounds from bullets are caused by the energy
of the bullet .

Energy increases with the speed of the bullet
& the weight of the bullet.

The severity of the injury also depends on the
shape of the bullet as it strikes the body
copyright (SAWA summarizing group) 2010 20
Gunshot Wounds - Types

Penetrating wounds
Which only have an entrance wound.

Perforating wounds
Which have both entrance and exit wounds.

Entrance Vs. Exit Wounds
22
Characteristics of Entrance Wounds
Punched-out hole in the skin (rounded vs.
oval).
However the diameter is usually smaller than that
of the bullet. (After the bullet enters through
the skin, the skin retracts due to its
elasticity. This will make the wound appear
smaller than the bullet that has passed
through.)

Marginal zone without epidermis and small
amounts of blood escape through (abrasion
ring).
Grayish-black ring of dirt.
Characteristics of Exit
Wounds
Usually the size is larger than that of the entry
wound.
Irregular
With extruding tissue but no abrasion margin .
More blood escapes from the exit wound

25
Classification of Entrance Wounds in
relation to the Range from Muzzle to target
Three ranges of fire are distinguished
according to morphological criteria;
1. Contact range
2. Short/close and medium/intermediate range
3. Long/distant range.
The muzzle was held against the body surface at the time
of discharge.
The entrance wound will be single, circular and about the size
of the muzzle.
The combustion gases have a high content of CO (up to
50%), the surrounding tissue often assumes a bright cherry-
red color
If the entrance wound is above a bony support, the
subcutaneous expansion of the penetrating gases may cause
radial skin tears due to overstretching, resulting in a stellate
wound of entrance

no muzzle mark
Burning of the skin with blistering
Tissue within and around the wound is
cherry pink due to CO
The wound is surrounded by large
defect of stippling or tattooing
The distribution pattern of powder
tattooing/stippling varies according to
the angle of fire
The powder tattooing helps to
determine Whether or Not the Victim
Was Alive Before the Shooting
An examination of the wound can also
indicate whether or not the victim was alive
when he was shot.
If a reddish-brown to orange-red powder
tattooing exists, that indicates that the
individual was in fact alive when the
wound was inflicted.
However, if the powder has produced gray
or yellow marks instead, the individual
was dead before the shooting.

no soot and no powder grains (i.e no
tattooing) could reach the body
surface
Shot-guns rarely produce an exit
wound, but if the shot was in the
head, the skull may explode with the
gas pressure from a contact wound,
ejecting part or even all of the brain
from the cranial cavity
Bullet Track
What affects patterns of tissue injury?

I. Deformation of the bullet

II. Fragmentation of the bullet

III. Amount of kinetic energy imparted to tissues

IV. Secondary targets such as bone.

V. Tissue characteristics affect patterns of tissue
injury.
(The higher the specific gravity of tissue, the greater
the damage. While Elasticity reduces the damage)
Bullet Track Cont
Lung tissue of low density and high elasticity is
damaged less than muscle with higher density but
some elasticity.
Liver, spleen, brain and adipose tissue have little
tensile strength and elasticity and are easily
injured.
Fluid-filled organs (bladder, heart, great vessels,
bowel) can burst because of pressure waves
generated.
A bullet striking bone may cause fragmentation of
bone and/or bullet, with numerous secondary
missiles formed, each producing additional
wounding. Fragmentation increases the permanent
cavity size.
43

Firearm Injuries

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