The external cicatrices finally look very similar to those produced by
bad acne pustules.
The contents of all gunshot wounds should be preserved, as they may be
useful in evidence. A pocket revolver, as a rule, leaves the bullet in
the body.
Wounds inflicted by firearms may be due to accident, homicide, or
suicide. Blackening of the wound, singeing of the hair, scorching of the
skin and clothing, show that the weapon was fired at close quarters,
whilst blackening of the hand points to suicide. Even when the weapon is
fired quite close there may be no blackening of the skin, and the hand
is not always blackened in cases of suicide. Smokeless powder does not
blacken the skin. Wounds on the back of the body are not usually
self-inflicted, but a suicide may elect to blow off the back of his
head. A wound in the back may be met with in a sportsman who indulges in
the careless habit of dragging a loaded gun after him. If a revolver is
found tightly grasped in the hand it is probably a case of suicide,
whilst if it lies lightly in the hand it may be suicide or homicide. If
no weapon is found near the body, it is not conclusive proof that it is
not suicide, for it may have been thrown into a river or pond, or to
some distance and picked up by a passer-by.
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