Multiple Suicidal Gunshot Wounds

Abstract

There are several parameters which are to be established and considered prior to diagnosis of suicidal origin of death from gunshot wounds: distance between the muzzle and the surface of the body, site of the entrance wound, direction of its penetration through the body, number of wounds, etc. In practice, cases of suicides by firearms with only one gunshot wound are most often encountered. However, there are cases in literature where two or more suicidal gunshot wounds have been found. Intentions of authors of this work were to find a proportion of cases with multiple gunshot wounds in the total number of suicides by firearms; to observe some characteristics of this kind of wound (number, localization, distribution, severity, etc.); to observe certain problems of diagnosis and differential diagnosis of origin of such wounds.