[Morphological characteristics of gunshot wounds of liver and spleen].

Stellate wounds are to be expected in gunshot injuries to the liver and spleen. As to their configuration, they resemble the skin breaks in an absolute close-range shot. The exit wound is larger than the entry wound. The genesis and utility of such injuries for reconstruction of the shot direction are discussed with reference to seven gunshot mortalities. Stellate wounds could also be achieved by shooting at isolated cadaver organs. The experimentally produced gunshot wounds differed from those produced in vivo in that the entry and exit wounds were equally large.