[Experimental biological effect of the gunshot wound inflicted by type BB 4,5 cartridges fired from an A-101 pneumatic pistol].

The objective of the research was evaluation of the biological effect of gunshots inflicted to particularly sensitive parts of the human body (the eye, lateral cerebrocranial surface) from a distance of up to 7 meters with the use of an A-101 4.5 mm caliber Russian made pneumatic pistol, firing a 4.5 mm caliber BB bullet. Hard-boiled hen eggs were used as a biological model. The eggshells were removed; the eggs were cooled down and placed in plastic containers (an equivalent of the human eye tissue). Fresh mutton shoulder bones served as the equivalent of the lateral surface of the human skull. The study showed that despite a relatively small kinetic energy of the bullets (below 3 J), the biological effect of even a single gunshot to the eye or the lateral cerebrofacial surface (e.g. the temporal squama) may result in tragic consequences and cause "other severe disability" or "a disease really threatening a human life" according to the Polish penal code; while a particularly unfortunate gunshot may even lead to a fatality.