Wound Ballistics Research of the Past Twenty Years: A Giant Step Backwards

摘要

Wound ballistics research is supposed to aide the surgeon in providing optimalcare for the wounded, but recent trends in ballistics research have not provided the surgeon with objectively determined information. Twenty years ago, wounds from penetrating projectiles were likely to be treated in a rational and effective manner; today many surgeons are prone to remove excessive amounts of tissue when treating wounds caused by what they assume to be 'high-velocity' projectiles. The most common battlefield wound has a simple punctate entrance with tissue disruption limited to a diameter no larger than the wounding projectile. The rifle wound of the extremity, where the bullet has not yet yawed, and virtually all individual wounds from explosive device fragments fall into this category. Historically, this type of wound has healed well, despite little