Stellate Fracture
Definition
A set of radial cracks extending outward from the main gunshot defect, produced by compressed propellant gas pressure radiating under the scalp in a contact-range shot; distinct from blunt-force radiating fractures in that they originate at the outer table, not the inner table.
Related terms
- Bearing Surface Diameter
- The diameter of the projectile face in contact with the bone surface at the moment of impact; smaller than the resulting defect...
- Contact Wound
- A firearm wound produced when the muzzle is pressed against or within a few centimetres of the target surface. Characterised by a...
- External Beveling
- The cone-shaped defect geometry at an exit gunshot wound in bone: the inner table diameter (entry face of the defect) is smaller...
- GSR (Gunshot Residue)
- Primer-combustion products (classically lead-barium-antimony compounds, now also non-lead formulations) deposited on the bone surface at close or contact range; detected by SEM-EDX...
- Internal Beveling
- The cone-shaped defect geometry at an entrance gunshot wound in bone: the outer table diameter (entry face) is smaller than the inner...
- Keyhole Defect
- An asymmetric gunshot defect produced by a projectile striking bone at a shallow angle; one end shows a conventional beveled entry geometry...
- Puppe's Rule
- The 1994 formalisation of the principle that radial fractures from a subsequent gunshot terminate at fracture lines already produced by a prior...
- Secondary Projectile
- A bone fragment or other material driven at high velocity through adjacent tissue by the primary projectile's passage through bone; produces irregular,...
- Trajectory Reconstruction
- The forensic procedure that integrates the osteological bevel direction, angle-of-impact estimate, and the physical scene evidence to reconstruct the relative positions of...
Explained in
- Ballistic Trauma: Entrance vs Exit Beveling, Contact Wounds and FragmentationA set of radial cracks extending outward from the main gunshot defect, produced by compressed propellant gas pressure radiating under the scalp in a contact-ra...