Stanzmark

Shtantsmarka (from German stanzen - “mint”, “stamping” + German. Marke - “mark”, “brand”) - imprint of the contour of the muzzle of a weapon on the skin around the wound inlet when firing at point-blank range ^[1] . It is formed if at the moment of the shot the muzzle of the weapon is firmly pressed to the surface of the body (“tight stop”). Immediately after a wounding projectile (in this case, a bullet; in forensic medicine, a projectile is a striking element fired from a firearm) pushes the wound canal through the skin, the powder gases pushing this projectile, exerting significant pressure on the walls of the wound canal, penetrate a layer of subcutaneous fat , tearing loose elements of a given layer by the force of its pressure. As a result, around the muzzle of the weapon, the skin layer exfoliates from the underlying tissues. Continuing to exert pressure inside the wound channel and under a peeled skin flap, powder gases press the peeled skin to the muzzle of the weapon. As a result, an imprint of a muzzle cut is formed.

If there is some (minimum) distance between the muzzle of the weapon and the surface of the skin, the die will not form when fired, since powder gases cannot press the skin flap to the muzzle, which is removed from the body surface.