Radiopaque deposits surrounding a contact small-caliber gunshot wound

Primer residue typically contains some combination of lead, antimony, or barium, whereas bullet residue from nonjacketed bullets is 70-100% lead. The amount of lead particles produced by low-velocity bullets (projectile residue) may be exceedingly high. Copper- or brass-coated bullets generate an admixture of lead and copper particles whereas jacketed and semijacketed bullets produce the least amount of lead particles and only a small amount of copper-containing residue. We recently studied a suicidal contact small-caliber gunshot wound with an unusual amount of bullet residue deposited on the epidermal margins and within the wound track. The entrance wound was encircled by radiopaque particulate material visible on the postmortem radiograph. Soft radiography delineated the material to the wound track and adjacent epidermis. Scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive analysis of x-rays identified the principle element as lead.