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Skull showing gun shot trauma Male profile, 1950s
Skull showing keyhole gunshot trauma, about 1861-1865
Heart of a 26-year-old man, perforated by a bullet, New York, 1937
Leg bone from the Ragsdale Gunshot Wound Study, 1984
Leg bone from the Ragsdale Gunshot Wound Study, 1984
Chest plates commissioned by Frances Glessner Lee, about 1940
Bloodstain, blisters, bullet holes, 1864
Skull showing keyhole gunshot trauma, about 1861-1865
Skull showing keyhole gunshot trauma, about 1861-1865
Civil War Collection, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C.
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Reading gunshot patterns

The mass manufacture of guns in the 19th century led to an epidemic of gunshot wounds incurred in wars, violent crimes, suicides, and accidents. The study of gunshot wounds became an integral part of criminal investigation and forensic pathology.