Does size matter? Not when it comes to gunshot wounds. Ask any forensic investigator in real life.Yet according to William Smock, a clinical forensic physician with the Louisville, Kentucky Police Department, most medical professionals incorrectly figure the path of a bullet in the body.Dr Smock said most think the larger wound is where the bullet exited the body and the smaller is where it entered. They make the decision purely on size of the wound.“People assume that small is the entrance and large is the exit, but that is not the case. The pathologist will base that on the physical characteristics of the wound and not the size,” said Dr Smock.There are six physical characteristics forensic physicians look for in gunshot wounds:n Wounds received by gunshot from a distance greater than four feet. “When a bullet enters the human body there is friction between the outside of the bullet and the skin. The friction causes abrasions so every entrance wound will have an abrasion collar,” said Dr Smock.n Wounds received by a gunshot from intermediate range ie less than four feet.n There is an abrasion collar and tattooing. “Tattooing is where you get unburned or partially burned pieces of gunpowder impacting the skin,” said Dr Smock.n Wounds received at close range. “There is an abrasion collar from the bullet plus soot. Soot is the carbonaceous residue from the burning of gunpowder which will deposit within six inches or less,” said Dr Smock.n Contact wounds. These are wounds received where the barrel of the gun is actually placed on the skin or clothing. “With contact wounds, in addition to the bullet, a flame comes out of the tip of the gun which will cause seared skin. So you are looking at burns or seared skin,” said Dr Smock.In this type of wound there will also be triangular shaped hairs. This follows the same physics as that you see when blowing up a balloon. It will expand and then at some point pop. “The same is true of skin,” said Dr Smock.“The elasticity of the skin will dictate at what point it will expand to the point where it rips and tears, but it always rips and tears the same way in a triangular shape.“The base of the triangle is where the barrel is and the apex or tip of the triangle is pointing away, the most distal part of the triangle.”n Forensic examiners also look for soot inside wounds. Also as the skin expands it pushes back on the barrel of a gun and leaves an imprint of the gun barrel. This is called a muzzle abrasion or muzzle contusion.Dr Smock trained safety offers including EMTs and physicians in the emergency department on these six physical characteristics.