Muzzle Imprint
Definition
A patterned contusion or abrasion left on skin by the muzzle face of the weapon in hard-contact wounds. In revolvers, the cylinder-face gap may produce a secondary imprint. Documents the muzzle geometry and is diagnostic of contact-range firing.
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...
- Contact Stellate Wound
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
Explained in
- Firearm Entry and Exit Wounds: The Medico-Legal ReadingA patterned contusion or abrasion left on skin by the muzzle face of the weapon in hard-contact wounds. In revolvers, the cylinder-face gap may produce a secon...