Missliwetz J, Denk W, Ellinger A
Institut für gerichtliche Medizin, Universität Wien.
Beitr Gerichtl Med. 1992;50:307-18.
"Weapons at hand" are tools of everyday life, which can be used as instruments for fighting. The investigation offers a survey concerning instruments, which were actually used for conflicting bodily injuries (cases selected from 1029 expertises) or for killing (cases selected from 474 autopsies). The findings are complemented by non-medical publications about self-defence. In the Austrian legal system the use of "weapons at hand" is interpreted like weapons in the technical sense.