Andrew Johnson considers wound ballistics and explodes some myths about this form of injury

Current trends suggest firearms related incidents in the United States will, by the year 2003, overtake road traffic accidents as a cause of death. In the UK, we see a relatively small proportion of firearm related injuries, yet as emergency personnel, we must have knowledge of the management of these injuries. In this article, the principles of wound ballistics will be discussed to prepare the health care staff in the management of gunshot wounds.