X-rays are
invaluable in the evaluation of gunshot wounds. They should be taken in all gunshot wound cases, especially those in
which there appears to be an exit wound. X-rays are useful for a variety of
reasons:
1. To see whether the bullet or any part of it is still
in the body.
2. To locate the bullet.
3. To locate for retrieval small fragments deposited in
the body by a bullet that has exited.
4. To identify the type of ammunition or weapon used
prior to autopsy or to make such an identification if it cannot be made at
autopsy
5. To document the path of the bullet.
Using x-rays
to locate a bullet will save valuable time at autopsy whether one is dealing with a routine or a special situation. In
instances of bullet emboli, x-rays are invaluable in locating the bullet.
Hours of tedious dissection can be saved. X-rays are also helpful in instances where
a bullet track abruptly ends in muscle and no missile is present at the
end of the track. Theoretically, one should have a hemorrhagic track from
the entrance to the site where the bullet finally lodges. However, in some
instances — especially with small-caliber bullets such as the .22 rimfire — the
last 3 to 4 in. of the track, if it is in skeletal muscle, may be free from
hemorrhage and virtually unidentifiable because the bullet has slipped in between
and along fascial planes. Such an occurrence is seen most commonly in the
arm and thigh. Occasionally an exiting bullet will have enough energy to create
a defect in the skin but will rebound back into the body. This may be
due either to the elastic nature of the skin or to resistance from
overlying clothing. A special
situation can arise with partial metal-jacketed bullets. Here separation of the
jacket and the core can occur as the missile moves through the body. The lead
core may exit while the jacket remains. At autopsy, if one is unaware that the
jacket is present in the body and that it was the core that exited rather than
the whole bullet, the jacket can readily be missed. This is especially true if
the jacket lodges in the muscle adjacent to the exit. To compound the problem, the
core may be recovered at the scene by the police and then be mistaken for the
complete bullet. The medical examiner may be informed that the “bullet” was
recovered. Facilitating the misidentification of a lead core as a bullet is the
fact that the core may have very faint “rifling” marks impressed on it through
the jacket. These marks, however, are class characteristics, not individual
characteristics; thus, ballistic comparison is not possible. Although in most instances the lead core exits and the
jacket remains, sometimes the opposite situation occurs, with the jacket
exiting the body. The recovered bullet core will show the impressed
marks of the lands and grooves. Ballistic comparison cannot be made, however,
as these are only class characteristics. If the fragments are large enough, they can be
submitted for quantitative compositional analysis by inductively coupled plasma
atomic emission spectroscopy. A comparison can then be made with a bullet
recovered at the scene and suspected to be the lethal missile. The trace metal
content of these fragments may also be compared with bullets in a box of
cartridges that is thought to have been the source of the fatal cartridge.
Although no one can testify absolutely that a fragment came from a particular
bullet or box of ammunition, one can testify that the fragment and the other
ammunition are identical in all measurable properties. If the combination of
trace metals is very rare, one can say that the probability of the bullet
coming from another source is extremely small. In x-rays of through-and-through gunshot wounds, the
presence of small fragments of metal along the wound track virtually rules out
full metal jacketed ammunition, such as may be used in a semi-automatic pistol.
The reverse is not true, however; absence of lead on x-ray does not necessarily
rule out a lead bullet. In rare instances, involving full metal-jacketed
centerfire rifle bullets, a few small, dust-like fragments of lead may be seen
on x-ray if the bullet perforates bone. One of the most characteristic x-rays and one that
will indicate the type of weapon and ammunition used is that seen from
centerfire rifles firing hunting ammunition. In such a case, one will see a
“lead snowstorm”. Examination of the x-ray,
however, will show that these fragments are larger, coarser and significantly
fewer in number than those seen in the “lead snowstorm”. Routine x-rays in deaths from gunshot wound may reveal
old bullets, pellets, or bullet fragments unrelated to the victim’s death.
There is usually no problem distinguishing them from new bullets when they are
recovered, as the old bullets are encapsulated in fibrous scar tissue. These
bullets usually have a black color as a result of oxidation. Black
discoloration can occur in a new bullet, however, if the bullet is exposed to
the contents of the gastrointestinal tract. The pellet perforated the left lung, coming to rest in
the musculature of the back adjacent to the spinal column. In gunshot wounds of the skull, a large fragment of
lead may be deposited between the scalp and the outer table of the skull at the
entrance site. This piece of lead is sheared off the bullet as it enters. wad picked up from the barrel as the wad moved down it.
In shotgun wounds in charred bodies, the range at
which the individual was shot is often an important question. Determination of
range cannot be made from the spread of the pellets on x-rays. Pellets entering the body in a mass strike one
another, dispersing at random angles throughout the tissue. In some cases, bullets carry fragments of an
intermediary target into the body and these can be visualized on x-rays.
Examples would be links of a necklace or wrist chain, links from a zipper or
wire screen. X-rays should always be taken
while the deceased is fully clothed, it will reveal bullets that
exited the body and are retained in the clothing.
Acknowledgements:
The Police
Department;
www.politie.nl
and a Chief Inspector – Mr. Erik Akerboom
©
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