Civilian gunshot wounds of the brain

Abstract

Forty-two fatal gunshot wounds to the brain were reported. The firearms used were those commonly available to civilians, ranging from a .22 revolver to a .45 semiautomatic pistol. Missile tracks were measured and the volume computed. The relatively low-velocity missiles produced by these weapons do not create the devastation that characterizes wounds from high-velocity military firearms. Instead, there is much variation in the size of the missile tracks, and they cannot be directly related to caliber. Pressure marks and contusions, impaction of bone chips, internal ricochet and cerebral edema occurred frequently. The missile passed through the brain completely in every case but was retained by the skull or soft tissues in a large percentage of cases. The mechanism of death may be acute pressure on the brain stem from the passage of the missile through the brain.