The elusive slug: bullet intestinal “embolism”

Bullet retrieval from the body of a gunshot victim is one of many tasks in post-mortem forensic examination. Rarely, it is complicated by the migration of the missile away from the entry point by vessel embolism. Abdominal firearm injuries, in which the bullet enters the intestines and moves inside...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Forensic science, medicine, and pathology medicine, and pathology, 2010-12, Vol.6 (4), p.288-292
Main Authors: Krispin, Alon, Zaitsev, Konstantin, Hiss, Jehuda
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdominal Injuries - complications
Abdominal Injuries - diagnostic imaging
Abdominal Injuries - surgery
Adult
Autopsy
Case Report
Colon - diagnostic imaging
Colon - injuries
Colon - surgery
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Embolism
Fatal Outcome
Foreign-Body Migration - diagnostic imaging
Foreign-Body Migration - etiology
Forensic Ballistics
Forensic Medicine
Guided missiles
Humans
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Pathology
Rockets (Ordnance)
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Wounds, Gunshot - complications
Wounds, Gunshot - diagnostic imaging
Wounds, Gunshot - surgery
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Summary:Bullet retrieval from the body of a gunshot victim is one of many tasks in post-mortem forensic examination. Rarely, it is complicated by the migration of the missile away from the entry point by vessel embolism. Abdominal firearm injuries, in which the bullet enters the intestines and moves inside the lumen away from the point of penetration, are even less common. We present a case of postmortem recovery of a bullet from the intestines of a gunshot victim who died 18 days after being shot in the trunk by three low velocity bullets. A missile had moved within the colon during hospitalization and postmortem handling of the body and was recovered from the sigmoid colon. This case demonstrates an extremely rare type of bullet “embolism” and emphasizes the usefulness of CT scanning in the location of projectiles.
ISSN:1547-769X
1556-2891
DOI:10.1007/s12024-010-9163-z