FM6.2,FM14.11 | Firearm & Blast Wound Ballistics — Summary & Reflection

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Wound ballistics involves tissue damage from temporary cavity (radial pressure wave), permanent cavity (bullet track), and fragmentation. Entrance wound features change predictably with range: contact wounds show internal blackening ± star-shaped tear; close range (<15 cm) shows external blackening + tattooing; intermediate range (15–60 cm) shows tattooing without blackening; distant range (>60 cm) shows abrasion collar only. These are Reddy's classification values and are approximate. Exit wounds are typically larger, irregular, everted, and lack abrasion collar — with the critical exception of the supported (shored) exit wound, which can mimic an entrance wound. Blast injuries are classified as primary (pressure wave — blast lung, TM rupture, bowel perforation), secondary (fragmentation wounds), tertiary (body displacement — blunt injuries), and quaternary (burns, crush, toxic). GSR collection requires paper bags before washing, SEM-EDX analysis for Pb+Ba+Sb particles. The forensic opinion on range, direction, and manner of death must be explicitly evidenced from wound findings and qualified with the uncertainty inherent in population-based reference ranges.

REFLECT

Consider a scenario in which a forensic physician's opinion on the range of fire is challenged in court. The defence counsel argues that the clothing the victim was wearing absorbed the tattooing, making the wound appear as a distant-range wound when it was actually a close-range shot — which would change the manner-of-death inference from homicide to suicide. How would you respond to this challenge? What additional evidence would you have secured at the time of examination to make your range opinion robust? Reflect on the principle that a defensible forensic opinion requires not just accurate wound examination, but anticipating cross-examination and building redundancy into your evidence base.