Forensic Medicine: Gunshot Wound Interpretation and Range

This UGC-NET Forensic Science Paper II Unit X set drills the core competencies of gunshot wound interpretation: distinguishing entry from exit, calibrating range from skin markings, reading bone bevelling, and applying the legal provisions that govern homicide by firearm in India. Entry wounds carry an abraded collar (ring of abrasion produced when the bullet compresses and drags skin inward), a grease or dirt ring deposited by the bullet's surface, and clean punched-out edges. Exit wounds are typically larger, irregular or stellate, and lack both the abraded collar and the grease ring because the bullet exits expanding into unsupported tissue. At contact range the muzzle gas enters the wound track, producing muzzle imprinting on skin and stellate laceration at bone-backed sites such as the scalp over the skull. Stippling consists of unburnt or semi-burnt powder granules physically embedded in the skin and cannot be washed off, placing the muzzle within approximately 60 cm depending on weapon and ammunition. Tattooing refers to the permanent pigment deposit from burning powder; the two terms are frequently confused in exam contexts and are central distractors in this set. Beyond 60 cm, only soiling from propellant residue and soot may be present, fading entirely at distant range where only the entry and exit wound morphology remain. Skull bevelling is examined in detail: the inner table at entry bevels inward (external table impact surface larger, internal table smaller), and the inner table at exit bevels outward. This direction is the single most reliable radiological indicator of bullet direction through bone when the body is skeletonised.

The Indian forensic medicine context is anchored throughout: Modi's Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (24th edition, LexisNexis) is the primary Indian reference; K.S. Narayana Reddy's Concise Textbook of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology (35th edition) provides regional supplementary anchoring; AIIMS Delhi's forensic medicine department has published case series on entry-exit differentiation. The legal dimension covers BNS 2023 Section 109 (culpable homicide amounting to murder, corresponding to IPC 1860 Section 302) and BNS 2023 Section 109 read with Section 107 (attempt, corresponding to IPC Section 307). CFSL New Delhi and state FSLs use the Modified Griess test (dimethylaniline-based) for nitrite detection in GSR and the sodium rhodizonate test for lead detection on skin or clothing, cross-linking ballistics and pathology.

Topics covered:

• Entry vs exit wound: abraded collar, grease ring, size, and edge morphology
• Abraded collar: formation mechanism, width, and diagnostic significance
• Stippling vs tattooing vs soiling: range markers and their washability
• Contact wound: muzzle imprint, stellate laceration, and bone-backed sites
• Range determination: contact, close, intermediate, and distant categories
• Skull bevelling: direction at entry and exit through the inner and outer tables
• Bullet recovery protocol: radiography, surgical extraction, and chain of custody
• BNS 2023 Sections 109 and 107; IPC 1860 Sections 302 and 307

Work through all 30 questions before reviewing the explanations. Allow 30 minutes.