Finding of a bullet in the cervical column of a body hit by a train.
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.
Navarro
J A
JA
Department of Legal Medicine and Toxicology, University of Zaragoza, Spain.
Cortés
E
E
Sanz
C L
CL
Pellicer
M A
MA
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