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Low-velocity, civilian firearm extremity injuries—review and update for radiologists

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Abstract

Firearm injuries are a preventable epidemic in the USA. Extremities are commonly affected in gunshot injuries. Such injuries may be complex with concomitant osseous, soft tissue, and neurovascular components. The maximum wounding potential of a projectile is determined by its kinetic energy and the proportion of the kinetic energy that is transmitted to the target. Accurate assessment of ballistic injuries is dependent on utilizing the principles of wound ballistics, accurate bullet count, and ballistic trajectory analysis. The goals of this article are to review wound ballistics and the imaging evaluation of extremity civilian firearm injuries in the adult population, with emphasis on ballistic trajectory analysis, specific ballistic fracture patterns, and diffuse, secondary soft tissue ballistic injuries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kimia Khalatbari Kani

  2. Yale Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, 330 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520-8042, USA

    Jack A. Porrino

  3. Department of Radiology, University of Washington, 4245 Roosevelt Way NE, Box 354755, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA

    Felix S. Chew

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  1. Kimia Khalatbari Kani
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Correspondence to Kimia Khalatbari Kani.

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Kani, K.K., Porrino, J.A. & Chew, F.S. Low-velocity, civilian firearm extremity injuries—review and update for radiologists. Skeletal Radiol 51, 1153–1171 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-021-03935-0

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