Analysis of ballistic trauma to ribs in connection to firearms used by the German military during World War II

Abstract

Ballistic trauma to the thorax is often seen in victims of humanitarian conflicts, yet the specific fracture patterns to the ribs are not widely present and defined in the literature. This makes the interpretation of trauma difficult for forensic anthropologists working on human rights cases. Most experimental studies focus on long bone and cranial trauma; however, ribs have a different structure and shape so that direct comparison of trauma from fracture patterns observed on other bones cannot be accurately used for interpretation. In this thesis, the experimental approach was chosen to provide a better understanding of how ballistic trauma presents on ribs. Pig ribs, encased in ballistic gelatine, were used as tissue substitutes and two different calibres as well as distances were chosen to compare possible changes in the trauma patterns. 9x19mm and 7.92x57mm calibres were chosen since they were the most widely used ammunition by the German military during World War II. Both calibres were fired from distances of 3m and 10m. After the firing the ribs were reconstructed and analysed using visual and metric assessments. This study found that there are several characteristics related to ballistic trauma in ribs. Fracture patterns, which are usually connected to cranial trauma as well as other patterns connected to long bone trauma were present. Although changes between fractures can be seen when using different calibres and distances, it is difficult to positively conclude a specific calibre or distance used without further evidence. Closer analysis of small bone fragments showed that the number is not indicative of the calibre or distance used, however, the shape of some fragments can help identify ballistic trauma.