Open Access
Subscription Access
Open Access
Subscription Access
Morphology and Multi-elemental Analysis Leading to Detection of Gunshot Wounds
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Present authors report the morphology and elemental analysis of gunshot wounds. Scanning electron microscopy has been used to study the morphology of the samples and compared with the control. The scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of gunshot entry wounds show coagulation of skin tissues. Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDX) has been used to carry out multi-elemental analysis of gunshot residues. Using EDX, lead, barium and some other metallic elements were detected in skin samples from a gunshot entry wound. Lead and barium were not identified in control samples from non-injured cases. These findings indicate that EDX is a useful method for rapid non-destructive elemental analysis of gunshot residues. This technique can provide scientific evidence for identification of a firearm wounds even after storing the sample for a long time in formalin.
Keywords
Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry, Multi-elemental Analysis, Gunshot Wounds
Subscription
Login to verify subscription
User
Font Size
Information
- Motonori Takahashi, Hiroshi Kinoshita, Minori Nishiguchi, Hajime Nishio, Legal Medicine 12 (2010) p:102–3
- von Ardenne, M. (1938) Das Rasterelektronenmikroskop Theoretische Grundlagen. Z. Phys. 109, 553-572
- Kopani, M. Weis, M. Jakubovsky, J. Dekan, J. (2007) Analysis of Human Spleen Contamination. in Solids at the Biological Interface, ed. V.L. Ferguson, J.X.-J. Zhang, C. Stoldt, C.P. Frick (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 1063E, Warrendale, PA, 2007), 1063-OO09-13
- Jurdak P., Kopani M., Simacek I., Manka J., Škrátek M. (2008) Magnetometric Measurements of Ferroor Ferrimagnetic Microparticles Dispersed in Medium Approximating the Intracellular Environment, in Nanoscale Magnetic Materials and Applications, edited by Jian-Ping Wang (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 1032E, Warrendale, PA, 2008), 1032-I04-19
- Kopani M., Miglierini M., Lancok A., Jurecka S., Dekan J., Melnik M., Sisovsky V., Mikula M., Manka J., Skratek M., Danihel L., Jakubovsky J. (2009) Structural Characterization of Iron in Human Spleen. in Mechanics of Biological and Biomedical Materials, ed. R. Narayan (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 1132E, Warrendale, PA, 2009), 1132-Z07-03.
- Raso D.S., Greene W.B., Kalasinsky V.F., Riopel M.A., Luke J.L., Askin F.B., Silverman J.F., Young V.L. (1999) Elemental analysis and clinical implications of calcification deposits associated with silicone breast implants. Ann. Plast. Surg. 42, 117-123
- Kim, Y.C. Triffet, M.K. Gibson, L.E. (2000) Foreign bodies in sarcoidosis. Am. J. Dermatopathol. 22, 408-412
- R. S. Nesbitt, J. E. Wessel, P. F. Jones, Detection of gunshot residue by scanning electron microscope, Journal of Forensic Science, 21 (1976) 595-560
- V. R. Matricardi and J. W. Kitty, Detection of gunshot residue particles from the hands of a shooter, Journal of Forensic Science, 22 (1977) 725- 738
- F.S. Romolo, P. Margot, Identification of gunshot residue: a critical review, Forensic Science International 119 (2001), 195-211
- Perper J. A., Wecht C. H., Microscopic diagnosis in forensic pathology. Springfield, Illinois, USA, Charles C Thomas Publisher; 1980. p 385-421.
- Havel J. (2003) Energy-dispersive X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry—a forensic chemistry method for determination of shooting distance. Soud. Lek. 48, 57-60.
- Brazeau J., Wong R.K. (1997) Analysis of gunshot residues on human tissues and clothing by X-ray microfluorescence. J Forensic Sci. 42, 424-428
- Dubrovin I.A, Dubrovina I.A. (2003) The influence of a shot distance on a profile of a wound canal in flat bones. Sud. Med. Ekspert. 46, 11-13
- Brozek-Mucha Z., Zadora G., Dane F. (2003) A comparative study of gunshot residue originating from 9 mm Luger ammunition from various producers. Sci. Justice. 43, 229-235
- Kinoshita H., Nishiguchi M., Ouchi H., Minami T., Kubota A., Utsumi T., Sakamoto N., Kashiwagi N., Shinomiya K., Tsuboi H., Hishida, S. (2004) The application of a variable-pressure scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray microanalyser to the diagnosis of electrocution: a case report. Leg. Med. 6, 55-60.
- Vincent J. M. DiMaio, 1 M.D.; Suzanna E. Dana, 1 M.D.; Wayne E. Taylor, 2 M.D.; and Jaime Ondrusek Journal of Forensic Sciences, JFSCA, Vol. 32, No. 1, Jan. 1987, pp. 38-47.
- Di Maio, V. J. M., Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms. Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques. . Elsevier, New York, 1985, pp. 34-35.
- Bergman, P., Enzel, P., and Springer, E., “The Detection of Gunshot Residue (GSR) Particles on the Bottom of Discharged Bullets,” Journal of Forensic Sciences, JFSCA, Vol. 33, No. 4, July 1988. pp. 960-968.
Abstract Views: 602
PDF Views: 2