ABSTRACT

In a seven years study, between 1987-1993, 133 medico-legal autopsy reports of deaths due to firearm injury were rewieved and classıfied according to age, sex, origin, we-apon type, range, characteristics and number of entrance-extrance wounds and internal tissue damage. 78.95 % of ali cases were male and the rest weıe female. Deaths were mostly in 21-30 of age (30.08 %). Homicide was the most common origin with 66.92 %. Deaths due to firearms injuri- es at distant range were nearly half of the cases. % 55.64 of weapons leading to death were handguns. It was found that average entrance wouncl number per case was 1.49. Gene-rally, head region was the most frequently effected area and brain was the most commonly damaged tissue.

Keywords: Firearm wounds, Autopsy.