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 reconstitutio...

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Published inJournal of forensic and legal medicine Vol. 16; no. 7; pp. 407 - 410
Main Authors Puentes, Katerina, MD, Taveira, Francisco, MD MSc, Madureira, António J., MD, Santos, Agostinho, MD PhD, Magalhães, Teresa, MD PhD
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2009
Subjects
3D-MSCT
Adult
Bullet trajectory
Computed tomography
Forensic Ballistics - methods
Gunshot wounds
Humans
Imaging, Three-Dimensional
Male
Muscle, Skeletal - diagnostic imaging
Muscle, Skeletal - injuries
Pathology
Three-dimensional reconstitution
Tibial Fractures - diagnostic imaging
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods
Virtopsy
Virtual autopsy
Wounds, Gunshot - diagnostic imaging
Computed tomography
3D-MSCT
Three-dimensional reconstitution
Gunshot wounds
Bullet trajectory
Virtopsy
Virtual autopsy
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Summary: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.
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ISSN:1752-928X
1878-7487
DOI:10.1016/j.jflm.2009.04.003