Summarycolon;Experimental shots into 10percnt; ordnance gelatin, validated as a tissue simulant by comparisons with living tissue, have allowed us to quantify the amount and location of disruption caused by various penetrating projectiles. These disruption patterns, known as wound profiles, have illustrated that ldquo;high velocityrdquo; military rifle bullets often cause no greater damage in the body than most common handgun bullets, because of their full-metal-jacketed construction, which is designed to limit tissue disruption. The wound profiles have also helped to expose and dispel the myth that bullet wounds should be treated on the basis of the projectile's presumed velocity. The problems that have plagued wound ballisticsmdash;faulty scientific method, nebulous terminology, failure of peer review in the literature, and insupportable recommendations for treating gunshot wounds in textbooks of surgerymdash;are pointed out and remedies are suggested. The lessons learned on the battlefield and recorded in the newest (1988) edition ofEmergency War Surgeryare also underscored.
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