title: Finding of a bullet in the cervical column of a body hit by a train.
abstract: This case is about the finding of a body of an unidentified male of approximately 70 years of age who was hit by a train. During the carrying out of the corresponding autopsy and after the radiological tests for posterior odontological identification, a foreign body of a cylindrical-cone shape, identical to that of a bullet, was found lodged between the first and second cervical vertebrae. During dissection of the neck, a bullet was found. When the ballistic test was carried out, it was ascertained that the bullet was from a cartridge of 7.92 by 57-mm Mauser caliber, manufactured in Spain in 1936. This ammunition corresponds to that used during the Civil War in Spain (1936-1939). After the identification of the body, it was proved that the bullet was the result of a war wound. However, the victim had been unaware of the existence of the bullet, which had remained in his body for 50 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cortés
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pellicer
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents; D000368:Aged; D001344:Autopsy; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D005547:Foreign Bodies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000473:pathology*; D011890:Railroads; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot