Fig 1. Orthogonal digital radiographs of penetrating ballistic injury in a deer with cranial/brain shot placement.

Orthogonal digital radiographs of penetrating ballistic injury in a deer shot with point of aim targeted at the cranium/brain (A) lateral, and (B) ventrodorsal. The caudal skull is the point of impact. There is complete destruction of the osseous calvarium with fragmentation of the dorsal and mid calvarium, frontoparietal region and caudal occiput. Notice the orbital trauma which correlated to the gross finding of globe proptosis. There is widespread traumatic brain injury, collapse of the cranial vault, extensive destruction of the ethmoid labyrinth, herniation of the brain through the cribriform plate and disruption of the hyoid apparatus with pharyngeal swelling and gas tracking caudally through the deep cervical fascial planes. Numerous amorphous, distorted (submillimeter to <2 cm) ballistic lead fragments overlie the resultant multiple skull bone fragments that arise from the skull. The mandibular bone fragments are displaced caudally and temporomandibular joint subluxation. A lesion such as the one described here resulted in instantaneous death.