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Forensic interpretation of gunshot wounds — entrance, exit and range

Forensic interpretation of a gunshot wound rests on its appearance: an entrance wound usually has an abrasion collar, and contact and close-range wounds also show soot and powder stippling, whereas an exit wound has no abrasion collar; from this direction, approximate range and sequence are inferred — and nothing beyond that.

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Why it matters in the exam

This is one of the most frequent subjects in the forensic medicine question bank, and it is examined only as interpretation of findings. A typical entrance wound is round or oval with an abrasion collar — a rim of removed epidermis around it — whose shape shows the angle. In a contact wound over bone, for example at the temple, gas expands under the skin and produces a stellate tear, sometimes with a muzzle imprint on the skin, and soot inside the wound; the tissue and blood in the area may show a pink colour from carbon monoxide. At close range there is soot around the wound and particles embedded in the skin (stippling); the spread of stippling widens as range increases, and at distant range there is neither soot nor stippling.

Precise range estimation is made by comparison with test firing using the same weapon and ammunition, because the pattern depends on both; the doctor therefore describes and measures and does not guess a distance as a number. Clothing preserves soot and particles and is therefore sent for examination, not discarded. In skull bone the entrance produces bevelling that opens inwards and the exit bevelling that opens outwards — one of the reliable signs of direction.

An exit wound is usually irregular, sometimes slit-like, with no abrasion collar; but when the skin is supported at the moment of exit — by a belt, tight clothing or a wall — an abrasion collar forms at the exit as well (shored exit), and this is a trap. An atypical entrance, without a collar or elongated, fits a bullet that first struck another target or was tumbling. Gunshot residue (GSR) on the shooter's hand is found mainly on the back of the hand between thumb and index finger; it is collected with a dedicated kit as early as possible. With multiple projectiles, imaging before autopsy locates them and prevents errors.

Key points

• Entrance: abrasion collar; exit: irregular with no collar.
• Contact over bone: stellate tear, soot inside the wound, sometimes a muzzle imprint.
• Close range: soot and stippling; spread widens with distance.
• Skull bevelling: inwards at entrance, outwards at exit.
• GSR is collected from the back of the hand between thumb and index finger.

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Sources

• Di Maio VJM. Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics and Forensic Techniques, 3rd edition (2016) — Entrance and exit wounds; range determination
• Knight's Forensic Pathology, 4th edition (2016) — Gunshot and explosion deaths
• Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death, 5th edition (2020) — Firearm injuries

Sources are given for further reading; the text is written afresh and not copied from them.

Reviewed by the Examqo AI Professor · 2026-11-06. The text may contain errors; when in doubt, check the source.