During your assessment of a patient who was shot in the abdomen, you notice a large entrance wound with multiple small puncture wounds surrounding it. This wound pattern is MOST consistent with a:

• A. shotgun.
• B. .357 magnum.
• C. handgun.
• D. .22-caliber pistol.

Answer: (A)

The pattern described reflects how shotguns injure tissue. A shotgun fires many pellets that spread in a pattern as they travel. At close range, many pellets strike the body, creating a large, irregular entrance wound from the combined tearing and crushing, while individual pellets also leave numerous tiny puncture wounds around the main wound where they hit. This peppered ring of small wounds is a hallmark of a shotgun discharge. In contrast, a single bullet from a handgun or small-caliber pistol typically produces one main entrance wound with less surrounding puncture damage. So the described wound pattern is most consistent with a shotgun.