Internal beveling is the classic hallmark of entrance wounds, and the shape of the beveling has been considered an indicator of the direction of fire and, to a certain extent, the type of weapon and caliber of the bullet 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
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Beveling is a sort of cone shaped bone erosion in the direction of the bullet path through the cranial vault Entrance wounds can be round / oval or stellate in shape and show an internal beveling (bone erosion in the inner part of the bony table) ( J Forensic Sci 1991;36:1592 )
The aim of this paper is to analyze beveling in gunshot entrance wounds, from a series of 27 cases with a total of 39 wounds. Assessment was made by measuring the external and internal cranial dimensions, describing the area of most pronounced beveling, and correlating the directions of the beveling with the trajectory of the bullet.
Results indicated that inward beveling was found in 36 of 39 cases, the absence of beveling in four bones, and actual external beveling in one case.
The inconsistency in the direction of most pronounced beveling in reference to the direction of shooting leads to the conclusion that this characteristic cannot be used to make a reliable assessment of the direction of fire. Adolescent Adult Female Forensic Medicine / methods*
Introduction. Beveling in both entrance and exit gunshot wounds are well known to forensic pathologists 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Internal beveling is the classic hallmark of entrance wounds, and the shape of the beveling has been considered an indicator of the direction of fire and, to a certain extent, the type of weapon and caliber ...
Endocranial beveling is one of the most important indicators of an entry wound to the skull. Classic entrance wounds are round or ovoid-shaped openings with sharp edges and a clear punched-out appearance. In certain cases, internal beveling can be very useful to identify an entrance wound, as, for example, when it displays an unusual shape ( Fig. 1 C,D), is very irregular ( Fig. 2 A,B) and could be confused with an exit wound, or when the skull is extremely fragmented (e.g., case C10). Furthermore, other kinds of beveling were also observed elsewhere, e.g., left clavicle (C14), ribs (C16), vertebrae (atlas, C15), orbital margins (C11, Fig. 3 A), zygomatic process (C11), and mandibular ramus (C16). This beveling is also noted in the sternum and iliac crest in the literature [13]. As anticipated, the external entrance hole surface area is significantly correlated with the internal surface area of the defect. However, the size of the surface area did not show any association with the size of the most beveled area, suggesting that areas damaged by the bullet may not have any relationship to the size of the entrance hole. Tamaska's [9] tests showed that an entrance hole might even be slightly smaller than the projectile because of the elasticity of living bone. Pollak and Ritt [13] reported similar findings in the postcranial skeleton with fully jacketed 7.65 mm caliber bullet, while .22s produce larger defects than the bullet. Thus, a particular bullet cannot be conclusively ruled out on that basis.
While the bullet's mass plays an important role in gunshot wounds, the most critical variable is the bullet velocity ; doubling the velocity will quadruple the kinetic energy. Types of gunshot wounds: Penetrating wounds: the bullet enters the body but does not exit. Perforating wounds: the bullet enters and exits the body.
Science that pertains to firearms and bullets; can further be classified as: Internal ballistics: what happens within the firearm from the deflagration to the exit of the bullet from the barrel. External ballistics: the behavior of the bullet while traveling from the firearm to the final target.
Abrasion ring: a reddish brown abrasion on the skin surrounding the gunshot wound of entrance. Greasy rim or bullet wipe is a dirt collar due to the lubricant carried on the bullet. Inverted edges: due to the bullet movement inside the body.
In the skull, gunshot wounds often produce numerous fractures due to rapidly increasing pressure as the bullet travels through the skull. Even if the bullet does not penetrate into the cranial cavity, its energy is still transferred to the bone and central nervous system, resulting in fractures and severe damage.
Determining the range of fire is one of the most critical parts of the forensic pathologist activity; secondary effects of the discharge surrounding the entrance wound (muzzle imprint, soot deposition, stippling or blackening of the skin edges) can help estimate the firing range
When the bullet hits the biological target, it transfers its energy to the body, resulting in injuries. Kinetic energy: the energy possessed by an object due to its motion; a function of the object's mass (M) and velocity (V): KE = 1/2 MV 2. While the bullet's mass plays an important role in gunshot wounds, the most critical variable is ...
Definition / general. Severity of injuries depends on multiple factors, including the type of weapon and bullet and the affected body area. May result in severe tissue and organ damage with sudden incapacitation, profuse bleeding, fractures and death.
Exit gunshot wounds of the skull generally have external beveling while entrance wounds show internal beveling. With rare exceptions, entrance gunshot wounds show external beveling, usually of two types: the asymmetric ‘keyhole’ type and the symmetric ‘non-keyhole’ type. In exit gunshot wounds of the skull, only the keyhole type has been reported.
ELSEVIER Forensic Science International 71 (1995)97-101 Forensic Science International A case of internal beveling with an exit gunshot wound to the skull T.