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Macroscopic, Microscopic, and Chemical Assessment of Gunshot Lesions on Decomposed Pig Skin
Author(s) -
Gibelli Daniele,
Brandone Alberto,
Andreola Salvatore,
Porta Davide,
Giudici Elena,
Grandi Marco Aurelio,
Cattaneo Cristina
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2010.01378.x
Subject(s) - antimony , gunshot injury , pig skin , neutron activation analysis , gunshot wound , open air , nuclear medicine , medicine , radiochemistry , chemistry , surgery , materials science , biomedical engineering , metallurgy , architectural engineering , engineering
Very little literature exists on gunshot wounds on decomposed material. In this study, seven pig heads underwent a shooting test. Entrance wounds from the first head underwent neutron activation analysis (NAA) and histological testing immediately after the firing test; the other six heads were exposed to two different environments (open air and soil) and analyzed by radiochemical and histological tests every 15 days. Gunshot wounds in air maintained their morphological characteristics, and those in soil showed severe alteration after 5 weeks. Microscopic testing verified positive results for lead in all gunshot wounds in open air, whereas in most of those in soil lead could not be detected. Radiochemical analysis performed by NAA yielded for all gunshot wounds but one antimony quantities in the range of 0.07–13.89 μg. In conclusion, it may be possible to detect residues of antimony even in degraded tissues.