Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Artist Statement
In the last decade, our country has seen an unprecedented wave of terror punctuated by increasing events of gun-related violence. Consequently, the use of firearms against civilians or upon targets containing civilians has inevitably had a direct impact on the health of those affected, and in many cases these events have concluded with mass number fatalities. The driving force for this research falls to the lack of available literature regarding the skeletal trauma associated with high-velocity firearms outside of realm of the military. Trauma from high-velocity firearms encountered in the civilian setting differ from what is seen in military combatants in terms of the epidemiology, mechanism of wounding, and pathophysiologic trajectory. The effects of these types of weapons on civilians, which result from their specific design and the context in which they are utilized, cannot be neglected any further.
This research attempts to investigate the skeletal tissue trauma inflicted by a high-velocity firearm, specifically the AR-15, in a civilian context. For the experiment, two post-mortem pigs were positioned upright and safely fired upon using an AR-15 with Remington .223 55 grain full-metal jacket ammunition from varying distances of 25 yards and 50 yards, respectively. The targeted areas of impact included the right and left extremities, right and left innominate of the pelvis, as well as portions of the thorax and the abdominal regions. After exposure to high-velocity AR-15 gunfire, the severity of the trauma to bone was analyzed taking into consideration the significant amount of bone obliteration. Examination and analysis was completed on the trauma present, including the location, dimensions, and fracture type (if available). Small bone fragments were weighed together using a digital scale and were considered as a whole. Larger fragments were measured using digital calipers and were counted. Bullet fragments were also counted, if present. The results demonstrate that when subjected to high-velocity AR-15 fire, the severity of the trauma to the skeletal tissues is so significant that reconstruction due to complete fragmentation of the targeted areas is nearly impossible. When the variable of distance is applied to such a high-velocity weapon, the severity of the trauma to the skeletal tissues was so significant that no determination or correlation of the distance was be able to be interpreted from the trauma. Bullet fragments were present only in the examination of the pig exposed to the 25 yard AR-15 fire. However, due to the small sample size, the presence or absence of bullet fragmentation could not be correlated to distance.
While the sample size for this research is small, it is with hope that its importance is demonstrated due to the fact that there is inevitably much to be gained from the understanding of the patterns and type of high-velocity firearm trauma, especially when they are used against civilians. The recognition of the differences could be applicable to the study of trauma in an anthropological context, which in turn could be beneficial to future humanitarian efforts and research involving civilians in mass atrocity events around the world.
Mentor Name
Randall Skelton
Pig Trauma Models: A Civilian Perspective on AR-15 Skeletal Trauma
UC South Ballroom
In the last decade, our country has seen an unprecedented wave of terror punctuated by increasing events of gun-related violence. Consequently, the use of firearms against civilians or upon targets containing civilians has inevitably had a direct impact on the health of those affected, and in many cases these events have concluded with mass number fatalities. The driving force for this research falls to the lack of available literature regarding the skeletal trauma associated with high-velocity firearms outside of realm of the military. Trauma from high-velocity firearms encountered in the civilian setting differ from what is seen in military combatants in terms of the epidemiology, mechanism of wounding, and pathophysiologic trajectory. The effects of these types of weapons on civilians, which result from their specific design and the context in which they are utilized, cannot be neglected any further.
This research attempts to investigate the skeletal tissue trauma inflicted by a high-velocity firearm, specifically the AR-15, in a civilian context. For the experiment, two post-mortem pigs were positioned upright and safely fired upon using an AR-15 with Remington .223 55 grain full-metal jacket ammunition from varying distances of 25 yards and 50 yards, respectively. The targeted areas of impact included the right and left extremities, right and left innominate of the pelvis, as well as portions of the thorax and the abdominal regions. After exposure to high-velocity AR-15 gunfire, the severity of the trauma to bone was analyzed taking into consideration the significant amount of bone obliteration. Examination and analysis was completed on the trauma present, including the location, dimensions, and fracture type (if available). Small bone fragments were weighed together using a digital scale and were considered as a whole. Larger fragments were measured using digital calipers and were counted. Bullet fragments were also counted, if present. The results demonstrate that when subjected to high-velocity AR-15 fire, the severity of the trauma to the skeletal tissues is so significant that reconstruction due to complete fragmentation of the targeted areas is nearly impossible. When the variable of distance is applied to such a high-velocity weapon, the severity of the trauma to the skeletal tissues was so significant that no determination or correlation of the distance was be able to be interpreted from the trauma. Bullet fragments were present only in the examination of the pig exposed to the 25 yard AR-15 fire. However, due to the small sample size, the presence or absence of bullet fragmentation could not be correlated to distance.
While the sample size for this research is small, it is with hope that its importance is demonstrated due to the fact that there is inevitably much to be gained from the understanding of the patterns and type of high-velocity firearm trauma, especially when they are used against civilians. The recognition of the differences could be applicable to the study of trauma in an anthropological context, which in turn could be beneficial to future humanitarian efforts and research involving civilians in mass atrocity events around the world.