Mr. Specter. What is your opinion as to whether or not a fragment of a bullet striking the President's head could have caused the wound to Governor Connally's wrist?
Dr. Dziemian. I think it is unlikely.
Mr. Specter. What is your opinion as to whether or not Governor Connally's wrist wound could have been caused by a pristine bullet?
Dr. Dziemian. That is unlikely, too. Our results with pristine bullets were very different from the wound that the Governor had.
Mr. Specter. Based on the description provided to you of the nature of the wound in the Governor's back, what is your opinion as to whether, or not, that was a pristine bullet or had yaw in it, just on the basis of the nature of the wound on the Governor's back?
Dr. Dziemian. It could very well have yaw in it because of the rather large wound that was produced in the Governor's back. The wound from a nonyawing bullet could be considerably smaller.
Mr. Specter. For the record, would you define in lay terms what yaw means?
Dr. Dziemian. It is the procession of the bullet. The bullet is wobbling on its axis, so that as it wobbles, it presents different presented areas to the target or to the air, and this changes the drag coefficient of the bullet. It will slow down the bullet more both in the air and in tissues, in the yawing.
Mr. Specter. What is the course of a bullet, then, which is a pristine bullet or the nature of the bullet immediately after coming out of the muzzle of a rifle before it strikes anything?
Dr. Dziemian. A pristine bullet is normally stable. It does not wobble in the air. It presents the same presented area along most of its trajectory until it slows down, so that the drag coefficient in air or in the tissue of this type of bullet is less than the drag coefficient——