title: Upon a failure to equal entry and exit wounds: a possible case of tandem bullets in view of the literature.
abstract: Forensic medicine specialists take account of the projectiles remaining in the body when determining whether there are an equal number of entry and exit wounds. The absence of projectiles should suggest blank cartridges, a single exit wound despite several firings and bullet embolization, whereas the presence of more projectiles than expected may indicate tandem projectiles and multiple projectiles entering through the same hole. Radiological examination of the whole body, follow-up of the bullet trajectories, examination of the clothes, and examination of the gun and projectiles play a key role in solving difficult cases. We review such situations based on a case of tandem bullets. Two 7.65-mm bullets created lethal wounds entering through a 32-year-old victim's neck followed the same trajectory to a certain point and diverted. We discussed the possibilities in cases that show inequalities between entry and exit wounds, in light of relevant literature.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey. gokhanersoy@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ersoy
authors.forename: Ahmet Selcuk
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Gurler
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozbay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology; D054644:Ear Auricle / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000473:pathology*; D044709:Forensic Ballistics; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D012535:Scalp / Q000473:pathology; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000473:pathology*