[The clinical biomechanical interpretation of gunshot wounds. The general problems (IV). The propedeutic ABCs of the terminal ballistics].

If we want to enunciate the damaging potential of a bullet fired from a gun we have to express ourselves right from the outset in terms of destructive work, that is to say not only destruction of the structures the bullet passes through, but also, above all, destruction of the homeostatic condition. In modern terms, this is particularly true of the abdomen, which, in perspective, above and beyond any direct involvement, is a candidate for an interesting role. As regards the translation of this destructive force in mathematical language, formulae are proposed in kilogram-meters, feet per second and Joules. A basic factor in external ballistics, quite apart from the actual forces involved, is the trajectory in space, the hyperbola, though we should also reflect on the problem of resistance, which has such a considerable effect on the behaviour of the "ideal" bullet in the atmosphere (the smallest calibre for a given mass, with the attempt to rid itself of its forced subordination to the calibre of the barrel). This leads us on to the subsequent concept of the "ballistic coefficient" and, in itself definitively established the basic assumptions of terminal ballistics.