The radiographic analysis of a wounded patient questioned of having retained unexploded ordinance

We present the case of a polytrauma patient brought into a military medical treatment facility in Khandahar, Afghanistan, whom on radiographic evaluation was identified to have multiple retained internal radiodensities, some of which resembled projectiles, not immediately obvious as to type, thus by default necessitating the consideration for retained unexploded ordinance. The ensuing analysis ultimately successfully identified the origin of retained radiodensities as inert fragments from a USSR 50/60 steel cored bullet as opposed to unexploded ordinance.