Contact Stellate Wound
Definition
Entry wound morphology at hard-contact muzzle-to-skin distance over bone: central perforation with radiating linear lacerations caused by discharge gas expanding laterally beneath the skin. Soot is present inside the wound track but not as a surface halo. May be accompanied by a muzzle imprint contusion.
- Field
- Firearm entry and exit wound reading
- Condition
- Hard contact over bone
- Feature
- Central perforation with radiating lacerations
- Soot location
- Inside wound track, not surface halo
- Associated finding
- Muzzle imprint contusion
Common questions
Why does bone matter for producing a stellate tearing pattern?+
Bone directly beneath the entry site provides a rigid surface that discharge gas cannot penetrate, so the gas expands laterally between skin and bone with nowhere else to go, tearing the skin outward in radiating lines. Over soft tissue without underlying bone, the same hard-contact shot may produce a rounder wound because gas can disperse into the deeper tissue instead.
How does a pathologist distinguish a contact stellate wound from a shotgun contact wound?+
Both can tear the skin, but a shotgun contact wound over bone often shows a larger, more ragged defect from the combined mass of shot and wad, sometimes with a stamped muzzle pattern from a choke or barrel end, while a handgun or rifle contact stellate wound is typically a tighter radiating tear centred on a single bullet perforation.
Related terms
- Abrasion Collar
- The rim of abraded, dried skin surrounding a gunshot entry wound, produced by the bullet stretching the skin inward before perforation. Width...
- Blow-Out Exit Wound
- A large, ragged exit wound with radiating lacerations produced when the bullet retains high residual kinetic energy at exit and the skin...
- Grease Ring
- A grey-to-black discolouration at the outer margin of the entry wound's abrasion collar, caused by lubricant and metal fouling on the bullet...
- Muzzle Imprint
- A patterned contusion or abrasion left on skin by the muzzle face of the weapon in hard-contact wounds. In revolvers, the cylinder-face...
- Shored Exit Wound
- An exit wound in which the exiting skin is braced against a hard surface at the moment of exit, preventing eversion and...
- Stippling (Tattooing)
- Discrete punctate abrasions or haemorrhages around an entry wound from individual unburned propellant granules embedding in the epidermis at intermediate range. Unlike...