• Mehmet Toygar, Türker Türker, Murat Eroğlu, Umit Kaldırım, Yavuz Poyrazoğlu, Yusuf Emrah Eyi, Murat Durusu, and Mehmet Eryılmaz.
• Department of Forensic Medicine, GMMA School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. mehmetoygar@yahoo.com.
• Ulus Travma Acil Cer. 2013 Nov 1; 19 (6): 536-42.

BackgroundFirearm injuries (FI) are the most common cause of death among military personnel. In this study, postmortem examination and autopsy records of deaths resulting from firearm injuries recorded in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Gulhane Military Medical Academy between 1993-2010 were examined retrospectively.MethodsWe evaluated the characteristics of 153 firearm deaths accounting for 36.6% of all medical-legal autopsies. The cases included 152 men (99.3%) and 1 woman (0.7%).ResultsThe mean age of the cases was 23.1 years (±4.7; range, 20-43 years). The manner of death was determined in all cases with 41.8% of cases identified as suicide and 39.9% as homicide. The most common sites of firearm entrance wounds were the head and neck region (n=109, 71.2%), the chest (n=26, 17%), or the abdomen (n=14, 9.2%). The type of firearm was not clear in most cases.ConclusionIn conclusion, complete forensic and medical records will facilitate the rapid and accurate conclusion of the legal process and will enhance future retrospective studies.

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