Citation

Costa ST, Freire AR, Matoso RI, Daruge Junior E, Rossi AC, Prado FB. J. Forensic Sci. 2017; 62(2): 361-368.

Affiliation

Department of Morphology, Anatomy Division, Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.13387

PMID

28247449

Abstract

Complications arise in the analysis of gunshot wounds to the maxillofacial region, when neither the projectile nor the gun is found at the crime scene. We simulated 5- and 15-cm firing distances at a human mandible to investigate the external morphology of entrance wounds based on fire range. The ammunition models,.40-caliber S&W,.380-caliber, and 9 × 19-mm Luger, were constructed with free-form NURBS surfaces. In a dynamic simulation, projectiles were fired against mandibular body 3D model at 5 and 15 cm. All entrance wounds presented oval aspect. Maximum diameter and von Mises stress values were 16.5 mm and 50.8 MPa, both for.40-caliber S&W fired at 5 cm. The maximum energy loss was 138.4 J for.40 S&W fired at 15 cm. In conclusion, the mandible was most affected by.40-caliber S&W and morphological differences were observable in holes caused by different incoming projectile calibers fired at different distances.

© 2017 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Language: en

Keywords

finite element analysis; forensic ballistics; forensic dentistry; forensic science; gunshot; mandible; wounds