ABSTRACT
Though the majority of missile wounds are caused by firearms, other devices such as crossbows, captivebolt guns, air weapons and even catapults can launch lethal projectiles. In the bombing deaths now so commonly associated with terrorism, missile fragments cause more deaths than the blast effects, so, overall, an understanding of projectile trauma is essential. Ballistics (Gr. βάλλειν, ‘throw’) is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behaviour and effects of projectiles. Internal ballistics deals with the processes in a firearm. Exterior ballistics deals with the behaviour of the projectile after leaving the barrel. Wound ballistics comprises the changes caused when a missile penetrates a human or animal body.
