§
Ricochet bullet: A bullet which
before striking the body, strikes intervaing object first where it gets bounced
or deflected to a different tract and then strikes the body of a person.
Nice to
know:
§
Dumdum bullet: The bullet which
splits or disintegrates when strike the body is called dumdum bullet. They
produce disproportionately a greater damage to the affected part.
§
Souvenir bullet: The bullet which
is present for a long time in the body without producing any gross problem of
the individual is called souvenir bullet. It produces no bleeding in the
surrounding area as it is ncapsulated by a dense fibrous tissue.
§
Yawning bullet: A bullet traveling
in an irregular fashion instead of traveling strait-cut is called a yawning
bullet.
§
Tumbling bullet: The bullet that
rotates end to end during its motion is called a tumbling bullet.
§
Kennedy phenomenon: When the
evaluation of an gun shot wound whether it is entrance wound or an exit wound
becomes difficult, it is called Kennedy phenomenon. American president John
Kennedy was the victim of such a wound hence the name.
§
Choking: In some smooth-bored
guns, the terminal few cm (7.5-10 cm) of barrel near the muzzle end is slightly
constricted. This is called choking of the barrel.
§
Metallic fouling:
The surface of
the bullet is grooved by irregularities on the inner surface of the barrel
itself which are specific for the particular weapon. These irregularities are
produced by the sticking of the particles of the bullet to the bore when shots
are fired and is known as ‘metallic fouling’.
§
Bomb: A bomb is a container filled
with an explosive mixture and missiles, which is fired by detonator or a fuse.
Terrorist bomb often involves 2 to 10 kg of explosives.
§
Injuries caused during bomb blast:
1.
Disruptive effects: If the victim is
almost in contact with a large bomb, he may be blown to pieces, eg, when the
victim is carrying it. The pieces can be scattered over an area of 200 meters
radius. Many parts of the body are never found, having been disrupted into tiny
fragments and mixed with the masorny & other debris of the bomb site.
2.
Burns: Temperature of the
explosive gases can exceed 20000C. The radiated heat can cause flash
burn. The flame causes extensive burns.
3.
Air blast:
An explosion produce a shock wave of high pressure which can throw the victim
against a wall or toss him through the air causing blunt force injuries. Entering
into the body it causes reactive pulmonary oedema which is called ‘blast
lung’.
4.
Flying
missiles: The blast may drive multiple fragments of bomb or pleces of
nearby objects eg. gravel, glass, wood, brick, plaster etc. through the air
into the skin and cause bruises, abrasions and puncture lacerations intimately
mixed on the skin. This triad of injury is diagnostic.
5.
Disruptive
effects: In high powered bomb explosion, a building is demolished. The
persons inside the building sustain multiple injuries & die from traumatic
asphyxia.
6.
Fumes:
If a bomb explodes in a confined space, enough CO is produced to cause
asphyxia.
