An extraordinary case of an intracranial foreign body after a gunshot to the head

• Published in: International journal of legal medicine Vol. 129; no. 1; pp. 149 - 152
• Main Authors: Egger, C., Schrag, B., Brunel, C., Lobrinus, J. A., Mangin, P., Fracasso, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.01.2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Autopsies; Breath tests; Case Report; Cocaine; Eyeglasses; Foreign bodies; Foreign Bodies - pathology; Forensic Medicine; Fractures; Head Injuries, Penetrating - pathology; Humans; Legal medicine; Male; Medical Law; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metals; Methadone; Morphology; Narcotics; Pathology; Temporal Lobe - pathology; Wounds, Gunshot - pathology; Switzerland; Forensic autopsy; Atypical entrance wound; Intracranial foreign body; Gunshot wounds
• ISSN: 0937-9827; 1437-1596
• DOI: 10.1007/s00414-014-0993-1

Intermediate targets (IT) can modify the morphology of an entrance wound, the trajectory of the bullet, and contaminate the path with fragments or material from the target. The penetration into the body of big fragments or even of an entire IT is exceptional and only rarely reported in the literature. The interpretation of a gunshot wound after contact of the bullet with IT can sometimes be very tricky as the classical morphology can be missing. The presented case is a rare example of atypical entrance wound and path due to a surprising intermediate target of a gunshot fired against the head.