TY - JOUR
T1 - Gunshot trauma in human long bones
T2 - towards practical diagnostic guidance for forensic anthropologists
AU - Veenstra, Anika
AU - Kerkhoff, Wim
AU - Oostra, Roelof-Jan
AU - Galtés, Ignasi
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - In contrast to cranial gunshot trauma, diagnosis and interpretation of gunshot trauma to long bones remains difficult and controversial. The aim of this study is to review the published literature on fracture patterns resulting from gunshot trauma in human long bones, and to use the described characteristics to provide practical guidance for the forensic anthropologist. In order to achieve this, medical and forensic publications on this topic were reviewed. Several types of fractures, such as linear, oblique, comminuted and butterfly fractures, have been observed in either the shaft or the ends of long bones. Indirect fractures that are not caused by bullets striking bone directly but by bullet-induced forces to the surrounding soft tissue have been found as well. Some of these fractures are related to a specific context or mechanism which might help in the forensic reconstruction of events. It is recommended that future research should focus on available medical data to provide more detailed descriptions on fracture patterns for forensic purposes. Experimentation with bone surrogates and computer modelling might also provide better and more realistic reconstructions of gunshot trauma in the future and provide valuable insights for its diagnosis and interpretation in forensic anthropology.
AB - In contrast to cranial gunshot trauma, diagnosis and interpretation of gunshot trauma to long bones remains difficult and controversial. The aim of this study is to review the published literature on fracture patterns resulting from gunshot trauma in human long bones, and to use the described characteristics to provide practical guidance for the forensic anthropologist. In order to achieve this, medical and forensic publications on this topic were reviewed. Several types of fractures, such as linear, oblique, comminuted and butterfly fractures, have been observed in either the shaft or the ends of long bones. Indirect fractures that are not caused by bullets striking bone directly but by bullet-induced forces to the surrounding soft tissue have been found as well. Some of these fractures are related to a specific context or mechanism which might help in the forensic reconstruction of events. It is recommended that future research should focus on available medical data to provide more detailed descriptions on fracture patterns for forensic purposes. Experimentation with bone surrogates and computer modelling might also provide better and more realistic reconstructions of gunshot trauma in the future and provide valuable insights for its diagnosis and interpretation in forensic anthropology.
KW - Ballistics
KW - Forensic anthropology
KW - Fracture
KW - Gunshot trauma
KW - Long bones
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128760991&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00479-0
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00479-0
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35451712
SN - 1547-769X
VL - 18
SP - 359
EP - 367
JO - Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology
JF - Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology
IS - 3
ER -