ABSTRACT
Unfortunately, ballistic and blast injuries are no longer solely confined to the battlefield and are now being seen in the urban hospital environment with increasing frequency. A combination of the surge in terrorist activity worldwide in addition to the wider availability of cheap firearms (esp. 9 mm handgun) in urban hotspots demands that all staff involved in the management of trauma should have a working knowledge of ballistics.
Ballistics Physics and ballistics are juxtaposed concepts, reflecting the energy transfer that occurs from one source to another (e.g. the kinetic energy transfer from the moving bullet to a person or structure as it decelerates) with destruction of the physical integrity of the target. The kinetic energy (KE) is represented by the equation:
