[The possibility of forensic medical assessment of the damage to clothes caused by a blank shots with the MP-79-9TM pistol].

The authors undertook an analysis of constructional features of standard blank and non-lethal cartridges for the MP-79-9TM pistol. The composition of gunshot products and the maximum distance over which they propagate have been determined. Special attention is given to the peculiarities of the damage caused to the target cloths (cotton and woolen) by blank rounds shot from different distances. A new chemical method was used for the first time to detect the particles of gunpowder on the victim's cloth; the possibility of its application for differential diagnostics of gunshot damages inflicted by blank and traumatic cartridges affected from different distances was estimated.