ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 September 1987
Page Count: 6

Cranial Fracture Patterns and Estimate of Direction from Low Velocity Gunshot Wounds
Lahren, CH
Assistant professor of pathology, assistant professor of pathology, and forensic anthropologist, University of Tennessee, TN

Berryman, HE
Assistant professor of pathology, assistant professor of pathology, and forensic anthropologist, University of Tennessee, TN

Smith, O'BC
Assistant professor of pathology, assistant professor of pathology, and forensic anthropologist, University of Tennessee, TN

(Received 28 November 1986; accepted 2 February 1987)

Abstract

Cranial trauma produced by low velocity gunshot wounds is investigated in an autopsy series. In skeletonized remains with postmortem damage, or after surgical debridement, the primary internal or external beveling may become obscured, causing difficulty with the identification of entrance and exit wounds. The morphology of associated secondary and tertiary fractures based upon the mechanics of their production is discussed as a means of establishing bullet entrance and exit sites.

Keywords:
pathology and biology, wound ballistics, ballistics, musculoskeletal system

Paper ID: JFS11188J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS11188J
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