Wound ballistics is a model of the pathophysiology of all blunt and penetrating trauma

Abstract

The tissue factors important in wound ballistics provide a useful insight into the pathophysiology of organ injury in all trauma. Wound ballistics includes penetrating and blunt trauma mechanisms. Blunt trauma takes the form of tissue stretch (temporary cavitation). The varied ability of different types of tissue to tolerate the physical displacement of tissue stretch in gunshot wounds, and the inability of any tissue to survive being crushed by a bullet, is a model for the relative abilities of different tissues to tolerate blunt trauma and penetrating trauma of all types. As in gunshot wounds, the extent of tissue injury from any type of trauma is directly related to both the characteristics of the tissue injured and the mechanism of injury. Penetrating trauma can be a feature of blunt trauma (and vice versa), such as when a rib fracture fragment is displaced into the spleen, lacerating it. Although the mechanism of a traumatic event may be pure blunt or penetrating trauma, the mechanism of tissue injury may be mixed.