Some Medicolegal Aspects of Gunshot Wounds

Common Misconceptions and Controversies Regarding Ballistics and Gunshot Wounds

“…23,32,50,51 In the first 12 cm (the average thickness of the thigh of a human adult) of a soft tissue wound path, there often is little or no difference between the wounding effects of low-velocity bullets and high-velocity fullmetal jacket types (e.g., AK-47 and NATO 7.62-mm rifles). 30,33,44,63,66 If a military assault type bullet does not yaw, deform, fragment, or hit bone, it may exit an extremity with much of its wounding potential unspent thus causing minimal damage despite its high velocity. 71 However, other authors 10,44,63,66 observed that the same type of bullet can produce a lethal wound when striking the chest or abdomen because the thicker trunk allows a sufficiently long path for such events to occur.…”

“…44,84 Artificial simulants typically fail to take into account the presence of factors that can affect the wounding potential of the projectile, including skin, the size and shape of the limb, how tightly the tissues being subjected to stretch are bound to surrounding structures or enclosed by fascia, and the presence of clothing. 66,77,85,86 Simulants such as clay, 27,75 soap, 76,77,83,87,88 and gelatin 44,49,65,66,70,72,77,89,90 are isotropic and therefore also fail to take into consideration the heterogeneous nature of living tissues and their interactions (skin, fascia, bone, and visceral organs all have different material properties such as density, specific gravity, elasticity). Furthermore inelastic mediums, such as clay or soap are limited in that their configuration after passage of a projectile reflects the maximal temporary cavity diameter, which tends to overestimate the amount of damage caused in living tissue.…”

“…Furthermore inelastic mediums, such as clay or soap are limited in that their configuration after passage of a projectile reflects the maximal temporary cavity diameter, which tends to overestimate the amount of damage caused in living tissue. Ordnance gelatin seems to be the preferred medium, based on some correlation with a small number of human 91,92 and animal 44,65,66,71,72 subjects, although one study found that arithmetic calculations from radial fissure lengths along permanent cavities in gelatin were off by more than 50% when predicting the temporary cavity size. 89…”

“…61,76,78,96,97 However, while the pressure of this wave reaches 100 to 200 atm, 62 one study showed noted little if any damage, 98 leading some to advocate "sonic pressure wave" as more a appropriate term. 10,30,31,33,66,99,100 …”