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The role of surgery in the treatment of penetrating spinal injury has been controversial. Neurological outcome of the gunshot wounds to the spine depends firstly on the initial traumatic neurological deficit. The extent of such injuries depends primarily on the bullet energy deposited on target. The spine injuries caused by the military high velocity bullets are of much more extensive damage comparing to the civilian injuries such are those inflicted by the handguns. The patient injured by the bullet fired from the handgun that penetrated right parasternal thoracic area and lodged into the body of the T2 vertebra is presented. There was no neurological loss from this injury. The ballistic analysis is provided. The bullet lodged in the vertebral body protruding to the spinal canal was removed from the posterior approach employing laminectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alizarin red S, a commonly used organic dye in the histologic identification of calcium deposits, also forms colored reaction products with other metal ions, such as barium and lead, wich are present in primer residue. The possibility was presented of using this histochemical technique in determination of firing distance based on the results in experimentally made close-range gunshot wounds (up to 1 m) by using several types of firearms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]