Buckshot wounds

Abstract

The differences between wounds due to conventional shotgun (shot) injuries and those inflicted by buckshot are inadequately appreciated by most clinicians. Cadaver extremities were used as targets for 12-gauge loads of No. 6 shot and 00 Buckshot to portray some of the "wounding" characteristics of these popular shotgun loads. "Wounds" so produced were consistent with expected ballistic performance of these projectiles. The lethality of buckshot wounds is discussed, four clinical cases are described, and the wounding mechanisms are briefly outlined.