Bullet Wound: Exit

When I picked out the bullet wound of the hat I wasn’t aware of how much research I would have to do for when creating my bullet wound. I had to decide whether it would be an exit or entrance wound, what gun and bullets were used and were on the body the wound would be. I have chosen to make an exit wound, I chose this because I think I will be able to show my skills more with creating the depth of the wound. I looked at a lot of entrance and exit wound and they are very different, and entrance wound is normally quite clean, a whole in the body, the obvious blood and sometimes gun powder around the wound. But exit wounds were a lot messier, bits of skin hanging off and you can often see the flesh inside.

In some cases entrance and exit wounds can be clean and the bullet can simply pass through the body without doing anything other than a small amount of damage. However given certain factors such as the proximity of the attacker, the calibre of the weapon, and the nature of rounds being fired from the weapon, these can have an effect on the overall wounding pattern.

Exit wounds are usually larger than the entrance wound and this is because as the round moves through the body of the victim it slows down and explodes within the tissue and surrounding muscle. This slowing down of the projectile means that as it reaches the end of its trajectory it has to force harder to push through. This equates to the exit wound normally looking larger and considerably more destructive than its pre-cursor - the entrance wound. Exit wounds will often bleed profusely as they are larger but entrance wounds can sometimes look only like small holes, unless the weapon is fired at close proximity to the victim. Other things include; they can have a variety of shapes e.g. slit-like, X-shaped, irregular. Exit wounds from high velocity firearms tend to be large and destructive, a typical exit wound does not have an abrasion ring and underlying tissues may be protruding.

http://www.forensicmed.co.uk/wounds/firearms/gunshot-wounds-rifled-weapons/

http://www.mussenhealth.us/gunshot-wounds/shotgun-injuries.html