Organ models in wound ballistics: experimental study.
BACKGROUND
Effects of various types and diameters of guns and related treatment principles are different. Our study was performed to experimentally demonstrate the effects of different gunshots in body tissues.


METHODS
9x19 mm hand-gun and 7.62x51 mm G-3 infantry rifle were used in the study. Injury models were created through hand-gun and rifle shootings at isolated soft tissue, lower extremity, liver and intestine tissue simulants made of ballistic candle. High-speed cameras were used to capture 1000 frames per second. Images were examined and wound mechanisms were evaluated.


RESULTS
It was observed that the colon content distributed more within the surrounding tissues by the rifle shootings comparing with hand-gun shootings and could be an infection source due to the large size of the cavity in the colon. Especially when the bullets hitting the bone were investigated, it was seen that much more tissue injury occurs with high speed bullets due to bullet deformation and fragmentation. However, no significant difference was found between the effect of hand-gun and rifle bullets passing through the extremity without hitting the bone.


CONCLUSIONS
To know the type of the gun that caused the injury and its characteristics will allow to estimate severity and size of the injury before the treatment and to focus on different alternatives of treatment. Therefore, use of appropriate models is required in experimental studies.
Ozer
Mustafa Tahir
MT
Department of General Surgery, Gülhane Military Medicine Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
Oğünç
Gökhan
G
Eryilmaz
Mehmet
M
Yiğit
Taner
T
Menteş
Mustafa Oner
MO
Dakak
Mehmet
M
Uzar
Ali Ihsan
AI
Oner
Köksal
K
D000818:Animals; D044709:Forensic Ballistics; D007422:Intestines / Q000293:injuries*; D008099:Liver / Q000293:injuries*; D023421:Models, Animal; D012756:Sheep; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000473:pathology*