Hemodynamic and histopathological findings in gunshot injuries

Injuries and deaths caused by firearms are judicial events that require reporting. It is necessary for all physicians, especially physicians working in the field of forensic sciences, and healthcare professionals dealing with forensic cases to know, recognize, describe, identify and report findings related to wounds caused by firearms. The aim of this thesis is to examine the 9×19 mm (M822) (340m/s) bullets, which is the most common diameter in civilian firearm injuries, and the 5.56×45 mm (SS109) (850 m/s) and 7.62×51 mm (M80) (800m/s) bullets which are the common diameters in military firearm injuries using from 300 cm, 100 cm and 10 cm distances, and to compare the hemodynamic and histopathological findings with literature. For this purpose, after 9 sedated Adana breed sheep were positioned and monitored, shooting experiments were applied. Experiments were carried out using 9×19 mm (M822), 5.56×45 mm (SS109) and 7.62×51 mm (M80) bullets to the abdomen from a distance of 300 cm, to the extremities from a distance of 100 cm and 10 cm. After the shooting was completed, an autopsy was performed, entry and exit wounds were recorded and histopathological samples were taken. As we have shown in our study, mortality and morbidity increase as the duration of the first hour, defined as the golden hours. Entry wound findings do not differ in gunshot wounds caused by low and high kinetic energy bullets. However, since bullets have different injury mechanisms, the damage they cause to tissues and organs is quite different. In all subjects, histopathological findings related to intestinal necrosis and, hemorhagic shock in the injury site and out of injury site organs were detected in all sujects. This result suggest that detailed internal examination should be performed in deceased cases, and organs outside the injury area as well as the injury area should be monitored for failure in living cases. Simulants have been used in previous studies on firearm injury mechanisms, and our study provides important information to the literature as it is the first animal experiment to show ammunition-related extremity and soft tissue damage, supported by autopsy and histopathological findings, according to the known literature.