title: Three-dimensional reconstitution of bullet trajectory in gunshot wounds: a case report.
abstract: In the medico-legal assessment of cases of aggression with firearms, imaging techniques have a particularly important role, especially in the study of a bullet's path through the victim's body. The analysis of these trajectories can be performed by the use of three-dimensional reconstitution techniques, namely Three-Dimensional Multi-Slice Computed Tomography (3D-MSCT). This imaging technique has been widely used in fatal cases, as a very important complement of the classical autopsy procedures, becoming known as "virtual autopsy" or "Virtopsy". To our knowledge, no reports describing the use of 3D-MSCT in non-fatal cases have been described in the medico-legal literature. The authors present a case of a man with a gunshot injury, in the context of a multiple aggressor situation, in which it was not possible to extract the bullet. To accurately determine the bullet's trajectory, 3D-MSCT was performed, thus contributing to a more reliable reconstruction of the crime scene in which the victim and the suspects were located.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Legal Medicine, North Branch, Jardim Carrilho Videira, 4050-167 Porto, Portugal. alkimed@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Katerina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Puentes
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taveira
authors.forename: António J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Madureira
authors.forename: Agostinho
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Magalhães
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044709:Forensic Ballistics / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries; D013978:Tibial Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*