Physical Effects Hangun Bullets Have On Human Body

This article pertaining to the effects that (handgun) bullets have on the human body is a continuation of posting of segments of a much broader article that are being posted for the viewer’s benefit As a shooter, it is not necessary that you have a good understanding of the "Physical Effects" that your handgun bullets will have on your target in the unlikely event that you may have to shoot an assailant. Nevertheless, if you are going to carry a concealed weapon then you owe it to yourself to gain as much knowledge as you can of what to expect in the event that you do indeed have to shoot another human being. The text that follows can be considered to be of an authoritative source:

Permanent and temporary cavitation cause very different biological effects. The effects of a permanent cavity are fairly obvious. A hole through the heart will cause loss of pumping efficiency, loss of blood, and eventual cardiac arrest. A hole through the brain can cause instant unconsciousness and will likely kill the recipient. A hole through an arm or leg which hits only muscle, however, will cause a great deal of pain but is unlikely to be fatal, unless one of the large blood vessels (femoral or brachial arteries, for example) is also severed in the process.

The effects of temporary cavitation are less well understood, due to a lack of a test material identical to living tissue. Studies on the effects of bullets typically are based on experiments using ballistic gelatin, in which temporary cavitation causes radial tears where the gelatin was stretched. Although such tears are visually engaging, some animal tissues, (other than bone or liver) are more elastic than gelatin[citation needed]. In most cases, temporary cavitation is unlikely to cause anything more than a slight bruise. Some speculation states that nerve bundles can be damaged by temporary cavitation, creating a stunning effect, but this has not been confirmed.

One exception to this is when a very powerful temporary cavity intersects with the spine. In this case, the resulting blunt trauma can slam the vertebrae together hard enough to either sever the spinal cord, or damage it enough to knock out, stun, or paralyze the target. For instance, in the shootout between eight FBI agents and two bank robbers on April 11, 1986 in Miami, Florida, (see FBI Miami shootout, 1986) Special Agent Gordon McNeill was struck in the neck by a high-velocity .223 bullet fired by Michael Platt. While the bullet did not directly contact the spine, and the wound incurred was not ultimately fatal, the temporary cavitation was sufficient to render SA McNeill paralyzed for several hours.

Temporary cavitation can also cause the tearing of tissues if a very large amount of force is involved. The tensile strength of muscle ranges roughly from 1 to 4 MPa (145 to 580 lbf/in²), and minimal damage will result if the pressure exerted by the temporary cavitation is below this. Gelatin and other less elastic media have much lower tensile strengths, thus they exhibit more damage after being struck with the same amount of force. At typical handgun velocities, bullets will create temporary cavities with much less than 1 MPa of pressure, and thus are incapable of causing damage to elastic tissues which they do not directly contact.

High velocity fragmentation can also increase the effect of temporary cavitation. The fragments sheared from the bullet cause many small permanent cavities around the main entry point. The main mass of the bullet can then cause a truly massive amount of tearing as the perforated tissue is stretched.

Whether a person or animal will be incapacitated (i.e. 'stopped') when shot depends on a large number of factors including physical, physiological, and psychological effects.....full length article on handgun stopping power and bullet effect on the human body.

DISCLAIMER:
The articles posted on this Blog will be written by the Moderator and not by Matt Canovi or Canovi and Associates, LLC.