powder tattoo

A geographic appearance on the skin caused by a gun fired at close range, in which the still-burning gunpowder embeds in the skin and cannot be wiped away; powder tattoos are useful in determining whether clothing was worn over an entrance wound

powder tattoo

Forensic pathology A geographic appearance on the skin caused by a gun fired at close range, in which the still-burning gunpowder embeds in the skin and cannot be wiped away; the PT helps determine whether clothing was worn over an entrance wound. Cf 'Stippling. '.