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Gunshot trauma in human long bones: towards practical diagnostic guidance for forensic anthropologists

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A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 07 June 2022

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Abstract

In contrast to cranial gunshot trauma, diagnosis and interpretation of gunshot trauma to long bones remains difficult and controversial. The aim of this study is to review the published literature on fracture patterns resulting from gunshot trauma in human long bones, and to use the described characteristics to provide practical guidance for the forensic anthropologist. In order to achieve this, medical and forensic publications on this topic were reviewed. Several types of fractures, such as linear, oblique, comminuted and butterfly fractures, have been observed in either the shaft or the ends of long bones. Indirect fractures that are not caused by bullets striking bone directly but by bullet-induced forces to the surrounding soft tissue have been found as well. Some of these fractures are related to a specific context or mechanism which might help in the forensic reconstruction of events. It is recommended that future research should focus on available medical data to provide more detailed descriptions on fracture patterns for forensic purposes. Experimentation with bone surrogates and computer modelling might also provide better and more realistic reconstructions of gunshot trauma in the future and provide valuable insights for its diagnosis and interpretation in forensic anthropology.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Co van Ledden Hulsebosch Centre, Amsterdam Centre for Forensic Science and Medicine, Science Park, Building 904, 1098XH, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Anika Veenstra & Roelof-Jan Oostra

  2. Firearms and Ammunition, Netherlands Forensic Institute, PO Box 24044, 2490 AA, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Wim Kerkhoff

  3. Department of Medical Biology, Section Clinical Anatomy and Embryology, Location AMC, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Roelof-Jan Oostra

  4. Forensic Anthropology Unit, Catalonian Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science (IMLCFC), Ciutat de la Justícia, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 111 Edifici G, 08075, Barcelona, Spain

    Ignasi Galtés

  5. Legal Medicine Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Barcelona, Spain

    Ignasi Galtés

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  1. Anika Veenstra
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  2. Wim Kerkhoff
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  3. Roelof-Jan Oostra
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  4. Ignasi Galtés
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Contributions

AV: conceptualisation, methodology (incl. literature search and data analysis), investigation, visualisation, writing — original draft. WK: writing — review and editing. IG: initiative, supervision, validation, writing — review. R-JO: supervision, validation, writing — review.

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Correspondence to Ignasi Galtés.

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The original online version of this article was revised: In Fig. 1, Bone 3 and Bone 5 do not show the white lines indicating the fracture pattern.

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Veenstra, A., Kerkhoff, W., Oostra, RJ. et al. Gunshot trauma in human long bones: towards practical diagnostic guidance for forensic anthropologists. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 18, 359–367 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-022-00479-0

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