The air rifle: a dangerous weapon.

The air rifle: a dangerous weapon.

The air rifle: a dangerous weapon Airgun injuries are common among children. Though several reports of eye and soft-tissue injuries have been published, intra-abdominal injuries are apparently rare. I report a case of gastric perforation by an airgun pellet, which exemplifies the potentially lethal injuries that these weapons can inflict. Though the current laws restricting the possession and u...

Arrogance—A Dangerous Weapon of the Physics Trade?

A a scientist who is not a physicist and you might hear that we physicists are an arrogant bunch. And to a layperson, scientists in general often seem arrogant. No, we shrug, we’re not really arrogant, we are just very objective and thus usually right! We are certainly a group with admirable strength in our convictions. Could there be a problem with welltempered arrogance? I have worked in a nu...

[Air-rifle injuries of the eyes].

Air weapon fatalities.

AIMS To describe characteristics of a series of people accidentally and deliberately killed by air powered weapons. METHODS Five cases of fatal airgun injury were identified by forensic pathologists and histopathologists. The circumstances surrounding the case, radiological examination, and pathological findings are described. The weapon characteristics are also reported. RESULTS Three of t...

Air rifle breech injuries to digits: a preventable hazard.

The obvious injuries attributable to air rifles, namely those caused by pellets, are common and well documented (Batch, 1981; Reid, 1974; Rawson, 1965; Hutchinson, 1981). The author has encountered a series of injuries from air rifles involving a different mechanism. These commonly involve the digits, often in young people, and require considerable hospital time and resources in their treatment...