Managing gunshot wounds requires a working knowledge of several mechanisms. Understanding the anatomy and physiology of the body is imperative; the severity of the damage and impacted body structures must be quickly assessed. This assessment also requires knowledge of bullet mechanics as it travels through the human body. Gunshot wounds present different problems for prehospital providers depending on how many bullets made an impact, what part of the body the bullet traveled through, and what type of bullet the firearm ejected.
A bullet from a gun has a certain amount of kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is (0.5)(m)(v2), where m is...