[Morphology of injuries by "humane killer" (livestook stunner) (author's transl)]

1 short synopsis deals with the general features peculiar to injuries by captive bolt "humane killer" (specifically the types with two opposite outlets for the explosion gases). When the bolt strikes the body at an acute angle, both the wound and the adjacent skin usually show some particular signs: normally the entrance hole is accompanied by two roundish or elliptic zones of blackening due to the diverging smoke conduits. Variations in shape and location of the foulings indicate an oblique holding of the instrument and often even reveal the degree of inclination. Another characteristic is caused by the conically grooved end of the steel bolt: the asymmetric sickle-shaped broadening of the "abrasion collar" reliably points out the direction of fire. Sometimes the entrance hole in the skull is accompanied by semicircular frame-like fracture lines which mostly are situated on the same side as the unilateral abrasion. The cauistic part includes one homicide and eight suicides. Among the latter group one case deserves special attention because the man in question was capable of shooting a second time into his forehead. Three persons tried to ensure the fatal outcome by combining the "humane killer" - injury with concommitant hanging.