Firearm Injuries

Forensic Medicine

Terminology

Types of Firearm
1. Shotguns

2. Rifled Weapons

Shotguns
- The smooth-bore weapon
-

They usually fire a large number of small

spherical lead shot.

A shot gun is designed for use up to 30 50 m.

Common sizes 19mm, 11mm.

Shotguns

Rifled Weapons
-

It differs from the shotgun:

1) They fire one projectile at a time.

2) There barrel has a spiral groove (bore).
3) Most of them have a mechanism for bringing a
new round into the breech

Rifled Weapons
Examples:
-- Automatic Pistol: self-loading weapon, where
shells are put into firing position by a gas operated
delivery system.

Rifled Weapons
-

The ammunition comes in many sizes.

Its a closed metal cylinder carrying firing cap &

a powder.

Mechanism of Injury
-

As missiles traverse the body it causes injury by

transferring some energy

Severity of damage is proportional to amount of

kinetic energy & the density of the involved tissue

KE = M * V^2

Entrance Wounds
1. Shotguns:
-

The mass of shot leaves the weapon initially as a

solid mass, which progressively diverges from
the weapon.

Contact Wounds (touching the skin)

-

When a weapon is fired, the bullet, hot gases

from exploding gun powder & metal fragments
from the bullet & the gun barrel are propelled out
of the muzzle at the same time.

The hot gases & metal fragments are blasted into

the body at the same time as bullet.

Contact Wounds
cont.

- Round or oval central defect with an abrasion collar

The size of the defect is comparable to the size of the
muzzle opening or bore of the weapon.
- Pink/red staining of the skin (due to carbon
monoxide laden gases producing
carboxyhaemoglobin)
- Gun powder blackening of the wound edges &
surrounding skin
-Circular bruise over the skin due to muzzle impact.

Contact Wounds cont.

Summery
-Wounds are circular
-There may be muzzle mark
-There may be a slight local burning to the skin & hair
-Redness from CO gases

Contact Wounds
cont.
Muzzle
imprint

Burning
from the
powder

Near Discharge
- Within few cm of surface
-Large central defect with stippling or tattooing
( small, dry, reddish abrasions caused by unburned
powder & small metal fragments striking the skin)
- Smoke soiling
- Lack of muzzle mark

tattooing

Intermediate Range

Intermediate Range
-Within 20 cm to 1 m.
- Diminishing of the smoke soiling but powder
tattooing persist
- Burning will be present
- The rim of the wound is irregular forming what is
called rat-hole.

Intermediate Range

Long Range

(2-3m)

-Satellite pellet holes will be seen around the

central wound, which diminishes in size as the
range increases.
- the spread of shot in centimeters equal two to
three times the range in meters.
e.g. if the wound pattern is 20 cm across the
discharge was roughly 7 10 m so couldnt be a
suicide.

Long Range

( 20 30 m)

-Abrasion collar
-No smoke soiling, burning or powder tattooing.
-Tissue displacement.
-Rarely fatal.

Differences between
shotgun & rifles in entrance
wound
Rifled weapons:
- increased tissue destruction due to the high velocities
-Usually have an entrance and exit wound
-Estimation of firing range is more difficult than with
shotgun weapons, but in general , contact wounds show
similar features of powder stippling, blackening,
burning, tissue disruption, & carboxyhaemoglobin
formation.

Exit wound
-Shotguns: Rarely produce exit wound because they
traverse the body.

-Rifled weapons:
--Exit wound is usually everted with split flaps.
--No burning, smoke or powder soiling.

Exit wound
Exit Wound
with split flaps

Entrance Wound

Exit wound

Accident, Suicide, or
Murder

-Suicides must show wounds which range within the

arms reach.
-Suicides shoot themselves in sites of election, which
include the mouth, the front of the neck, the forehead,
or the front of the chest.
-Discharge into the entrance wound are usually on the
side of the dominant hand, but this is not absolute.
-People almost never shot themselves in the eye or
abdomen & naturally not in inaccessible sites such as
the back.
-Women rarely commit suicide with guns & rarely
involved in firearm accidents.

Accident, Suicide, or
Murder

-A shot woman is a murdered woman until proved

otherwise.
-Multiple firearm wounds suggest homicide
-In suicide weapon must be present, though it may be
at a distance from the body.

Doctors duty in firearm

injuries & deaths
-All evidence carefully preserved for the police.
-The skin in post-mortem examination around
the entrance wound should be removed & kept
without formalin, for forensic tests for powder
residue.

Thank You