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Powder tattooing

Stippling pattern of unburned and partially burned propellant grains embedded in the skin around an entry wound. Cannot be wiped off. Pathognomonic for the intermediate range; absent at contact (driven into wound track) and at distant (grains never reach the skin).

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Related terms

Modified Griess testSoot (blackening)Azo dyeBullet wipeContact shotDesensitisation (Griess protocol)Lead-free primerRange of firingSodium rhodizonateSodium rhodizonate testStipplingTest-fired control panels

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