ABSTRACT
A young boy died after being hit on the right forehead by a small metallic plug from the neck of a carbon dioxide cylinder (as used to produce soda water in soda siphons). The cylinder was thrown into a fire and exploded, expelling the plug at incredibly high speed. The entry wound consisted of a radiating complex of three well-defined lacerations with a subtle abrasion margin at its center point. The defect closely resembled a contact entry wound over a bony area or possibly an irregular exit wound. Deep to the laceration, a well-demarcated circular cranial full thickness defect with radiating fracture lines and internal/external beveling was identified. The metallic plug weighed 4 grain but produced a large complex skull fracture with cerebral trauma such as one might expect from the passage of a .38 caliber projectile, weighing in excess of 140 grain.
