Frequency of Bone Lesions: An Inadequate Criterion for Gunshot Wound Diagnosis in Skeletal Remains

• NCJ Number: 188961
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2001 Pages: 593-595
• Author(s): Geoffroy Lorin de la Grandmaison M.D.; Fabrice Brion M.D.; Michel Durigon M.D.
• Date Published: May 2001
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined fatalities due to gunshot wounds in an attempt to determine whether the combined absence of bone damage and projectile in a skeleton is sufficient to eliminate a diagnosis of gunshot wound.

Abstract

Bone lesions were present in about 90 percent of 130 cases examined and were associated with intracorporeal projectile(s) in about 70 percent of the cases. The presence or absence of bone lesions seemed independent of gun characteristics, shot conditions, and type of death. The cause of death was predominantly brain injury in cases with bone lesions, whereas thoracic, abdominal, and peripheral vascular causes were more frequently encountered in cases without bone damage. The study concludes that the combined absence of bone lesions and intracorporeal projectile (about 5 percent of cases in this study) cannot exclude a diagnosis of death secondary to gunshot wounds. However, it cautions that this diagnosis must be made very carefully because of the nonspecificity of bone lesions and the rare possibility of the presence of intracorporeal projectile(s) as the result of an old nonlethal gunshot incident. Tables, references