Bullet Embolism
Definition
Intravascular migration of a projectile after vascular entry, carried by blood flow to a location remote from the entry wound. Presents at autopsy as a bullet in an anatomical site disconnected from any wound track. Identified by pre-dissection full-body radiography. Documented in the Mattox-Beall series (Houston, 1979-1996) and the Velmahos series (1998).
- Mechanism
- Intravascular bullet migration
- Finding
- Bullet located away from wound track
- Detection
- Pre-dissection full-body radiography
- Documented series
- Mattox-Beall 1979-1996, Velmahos 1998
- Field
- Forensic pathology, ballistic autopsy
Common questions
Why is pre-dissection radiography important when bullet embolism is suspected?+
Without imaging first, a pathologist dissecting only along the apparent wound track can fail to locate a bullet that travelled elsewhere in the vasculature, leaving an incomplete or misleading autopsy record.
How is bullet embolism distinguished from a bullet that simply took an unusual tissue path?+
Embolism is confirmed when the projectile is found within a blood vessel or a chamber reached via the circulation, disconnected from any direct wound track, rather than lodged along a continuous tissue path.
Related terms
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- Post-Mortem Wound
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- Ricochet Wound
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- Staging
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- Vital Reaction
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