Atypical gunshot and blunt force injuries: wounds along the biomechanical continuum

Spatola, Brian F.

doi:10.1002/9781118384213.ch2

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Despite lack of production of intact bioceramic conoids, comparison of plug morphology produced by low velocity impacts [15][16][17] with residual fracture morphology subsequent to medium and high velocity impacts reveals similarities that are indicative of a common fracture process. Whilst overlap in external morphology between conoidal wounds produced by blunt and projectile trauma has been reported previously [50][51][52], this is the first report of wounds inflicted at 150 m/s being identical internally to those produced at 850 m/s. These shared internal and external morphological features suggest that conoidal wounds form a distinct category of trauma characterised by trans-laminar crack propagation and bioceramic conoid production.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

A novel hypothesis for the formation of conoidal projectile wounds in sandwich bones

Rickman

Shackel

2018

Int J Legal Med

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When perforated by a projectile sandwich bones typically exhibit wounds with a distinct conoidal morphology that is widely utilised both in wound diagnosis and trajectory determinations. However, the dynamic fracture mechanisms underlying this intriguing wound type have yet to be experimentally verified. The most frequently quoted hypothesis for their formation, plug and spall, is difficult to reconcile with the conoidal morphology exhibited by such wounds. The present article carries out a high speed videographic and micro-computerised tomographic (µ-CT) analysis of perpendicularly produced projectile wounds induced from 139.15 to 896.84 metres per second (m/s) in pig scapulae. Fundamental data on energy absorption, wound shape and bevel symmetry are presented. Crosssectional fracture morphology revealed by µ-CT raises the novel hypothesis that tensile stresses induced by the projectile in the outer cortex elicit cone crack formation, and that this cone crack then propagates catastrophically through the entire sandwich structure. This process results in the momentary formation of a bioceramic conoid; a conoidal volume of bone consisting of all three sandwich bone layers separated from the parent bone by the internal bevel. Fragmentation of the separated volume leaves the conoidal wound behind as its counterpart. The significance of this hypothesis in terms of differential diagnosis and interpretation of bevel shape is discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

A novel hypothesis for the formation of conoidal projectile wounds in sandwich bones

Rickman

Shackel

2018

Int J Legal Med

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“…Different blunt objects can cause identical fracture patterns, so it is not always possible to determine the exact weapon used without risking over‐interpretation (Pinheiro et al, 2015; Spatola, 2015). This case does not seem to be related to the use of a sharp‐blunt object, such as an ax or adze, because of its circular and homogeneous outline that makes it difficult to distinguish a clear point of impact from an object with sharp ends (Kimmerle & Baraybar, 2008; Moreno‐Ibáñez et al, 2021, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death in the high mountains: Evidence of interpersonal violence during Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Roc de les Orenetes (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

Moreno‐Ibáñez,

Saladié,

Ramírez‐Pedraza

et al. 2024

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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ObjectivesTo test a hypothesis on interpersonal violence events during the transition between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age in the Eastern Pyrenees, to contextualize it in Western Europe during that period, and to assess if these marks can be differentiated from secondary funerary treatment.Materials and MethodsMetric and non‐metric methods were used to estimate the age‐at‐death and sex of the skeletal remains. Perimortem injuries were observed and analyzed with stereomicroscopy and confocal microscopy.ResultsAmong the minimum of 51 individuals documented, at least six people showed evidence of perimortem trauma. All age groups and both sexes are represented in the skeletal sample, but those with violent injuries are predominantly males. Twenty‐six bones had 49 injuries, 48 of which involved sharp force trauma on postcranial elements, and one example of blunt force trauma on a cranium. The wounds were mostly located on the upper extremities and ribs, anterior and posterior. Several antemortem lesions were also documented in the assemblage.DiscussionThe perimortem lesions, together with direct dating, suggest that more than one episode of interpersonal violence took place between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age in northeastern Spain. The features of the sharp force trauma indicate that different weapons were used, including sharp metal objects and lithic projectiles. The Roc de les Orenetes assemblage represents a scenario of recurrent lethal confrontation in a high mountain geographic context, representing the evidence of inferred interpersonal violence located at the highest altitude settings in the Pyrenees, at 1836 meters above sea level.

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“…In support of this, beveled fractures have been observed in bone subsequent to blunt and low velocity projectile impact in human cranial material (e.g., see [10][11][12]), and have been generated experimentally in non-human long bones [13] and sandwich bones [4]. Intact bone conoids have been described in both case [14][15][16] and experimental series [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Cone cracking in human bone: A CT case review series

Christensen

Rickman

2022

Forensic Imaging

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Atypical gunshot and blunt force injuries: wounds along the biomechanical continuum

Cited by 7 publications

References 18 publications

A novel hypothesis for the formation of conoidal projectile wounds in sandwich bones

A novel hypothesis for the formation of conoidal projectile wounds in sandwich bones

Death in the high mountains: Evidence of interpersonal violence during Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age at Roc de les Orenetes (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain)

Cone cracking in human bone: A CT case review series

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