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Wound Ballistics Updated 12/2010

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BASICS

  • Description
  • Etiology

DIAGNOSIS

  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Essential Workup
  • Tests
  • Differential Diagnosis

TREATMENT

  • Pre-hospital
  • Initial Stabilization
  • ED Treatment
  • Medication (Drugs)
  • In-patient Considerations

Ongoing Care

  • Follow-Up Recommendations
The following is an excerpt....
BASICS
Description

The physical forces that determine the wounding potential of gunshot and other penetrating wounds

Etiology
  • Wounding potential of bullet is determined by mass and velocity.
  • The type and severity of a wound is determined by:
    • Wounding potential
    • Construction and shape of the bullet
    • Orientation upon striking body
    • Deformity or fragmentation
    • What tissues the bullet traverses
  • Traditional distinction between low and high muzzle velocity does not differentiate kind and severity of wounding:
    • A civilian hunting rifle or a large-caliber handgun with a hollow-point bullet may produce a more severe wound than a round with a full metal jacket from a “high-velocity” military rifle.
  • Bullets wound by two main mechanisms—crush and stretch:
    • Sonic pressure wave that ...

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