Cytology in Ballistics: An experimental investigation of tissue fragments on full metal jacketed bullets using routine cytologic techniques

Particulate matter on bullets may be used to decide which target they have passed through, and tissue fragments are the obvious candidates for study. In order to determine if recognizable tissue fragments could be found on full metal jacketed bullets, 44 such bullets were fired against anesthetized pigs and 36 were recovered. On 4 bullets fragments of tissue could be identified by routine cytological techniques. The procedure should be attempted in selected cases where it is imperative to know if a bullet has passed through tissue.