"Gunshot wounds are caused when a bullet is fired and enters the body. This bullet can travel more than 3,000 miles per hour. The extent of tissue trauma and organs is determined by ballistics, which is determined by the type of weapon, speed and mass. (Gunshot Wounds; Gunshot Injury Information (GSW). (nd). Simply owning a gun puts a person at risk. A gun in the home is a risk factor for homicide and of firearm-related suicides, as well as unintentional injuries and deaths Firearm injury can be costly to treat. “The average direct cost of medical care is approximately $17,000 per gunshot wound. year, lifetime medical costs are estimated at $2 billion to $3 billion, with assaults accounting for $1.7 billion, or 74 percent of the total cost. The rate of firearm-related injuries was seven times higher among. males than females. The annual rate of fatal and non-fatal firearm injuries was highest among African American males aged 20 to 24" (Cook PJ, Lawrence BA, Ludwig. J, Miller TR. . 1999;281(5):447-454.)Say No to Plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the Original EssayGunshot wounds are blunt force, intentional/unintentional cellular injury. They cause the release of chemical mediators and damage the capillary membrane, causing inflammation and damaging the membranes. Antibodies can interfere with cellular communication and cause damage. According to Huether, SE, McCance, KL and Parkinson, C. (2008), cell damage from a gunshot is penetrating trauma. It is a mechanical injury to the body resulting in tearing, shearing and crushing of tissue. The placement and trajectory of the projectile are decisive for the injury. These injuries can include severe bleeding, tissue and organ damage, fractures, wound infection, and paralysis. Physical signs and symptoms vary depending on the size of the bullet and the area affected. Gunshot wounds most commonly affect the small intestine, colon and liver. Entrance wounds show contraction of the elastic tissue around the wound. If the gun came into contact with the skin, the doctor would see burn marks around the wound. Close range wounds have soot deposited around the wound. Long range injuries typically see an “abrasion collar” around the bullet hole. Exit wounds are not consistently larger than entry wounds, but the skin is inverted outward. Exit wounds do not feature abrasion, soot, or tattoo collars. Gunshot wounds are particularly prone to anaerobic infections, particularly tetanus and gas gangrene. “Medical staff should ensure tetanus coverage is up to date and 24 to 48 hours of intravenous antibiotic therapy is routine after fractures caused by high-velocity weapons or shotguns.” . (Antibiotic treatment in gunshot wounds. Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, 408, 82-85). “Within the first 10 minutes of injury (the “Platinum 10 Minutes”), victims are at risk of typical, preventable complications that immediately become life-threatening” (The Combat Wounded: The Platinum Ten Minutes and l'heure d'or, September 2014 (788):14-5) Time elapsed between trauma and presentation greater than 6 hours, presence of shock on admission to hospital, surgical intervention of a.