Evidence found from this review necessitating coverage requirements of individual anatomical structures by ballistic plates
| Anatomical structure | Essential coverage | Desired coverage | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heart and great vessels | Yes | Yes | Most common cause of immediate death1 3–6 13 32 33 57 59–68 |
| Liver | Yes | Yes | Significant mortality through haemorrhage1 39–42 53–55 |
| Spleen | Yes | Yes | High mortality from haemorrhage but no evidence describing mortality rates found33 36–38 50 53 55 |
| Lungs (excluding pulmonary vasculature) | No | Yes | Penetrating ballistic lung injury has high mortality.43 57 Papers could not differentiate if that mortality was due to parenchymal damage or bleeding from the pulmonary arteries or pulmonary veins |
| Kidney | No | Yes | Dialysis only required if both kidneys destroyed. Such an injury only likely to occur with no survivable adjacent intrathoracic injury3 55 |
| Trachea and main bronchi | No | Yes | Airway damage is the third most common cause of potentially survivable death.3–7 32–37 48 57 However no evidence was found to state that this mortality was from damage to the intrathoracic portion of the airway |
| Spinal cord (thoracic and lumbar sections) | No | Yes | Paraplegia from ballistic cord damage at these levels results in poor functional outcome and reduced life expectancy44–48 |
| Intestines (intra- abdominal components) | No | Yes | Significant morbidity was identified from outcomes of intestinal injury, primarily related to the requirement for a long-term stoma50–52 56 |