Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Gross Description of Brain

Following formalin fixation, the brain weighed 1500 gms and showed marked disruption of the right cerebral hemisphere, including a longitudinal parasagittal laceration approximately 2.5 cm right of the midline extending from the occipital to the frontal lobe, with loss of cortical substance especially in the parietal region. Additional lacerations radiated from the main wound and involved the corpus callosum, exposing the right lateral and third ventricles. The left hemisphere remained intact but exhibited meningeal vessel engorgement and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Basilar inspection revealed a midbrain laceration through the third ventricle floor and a 1.5 cm tear through the left cerebral peduncle, along with superficial basilar lacerations. To preserve the specimen, coronal sections were not made; instead, seven designated tissue samples were taken for microscopic examination, and thirteen photographs (seven black-and-white, six color) were exposed but not developed, with the negatives delivered to Rear Admiral George W. Burkley.

Microscopic Examination: Brain

Microscopic examination of multiple representative brain sections showed extensive tissue disruption with associated hemorrhage, with no significant abnormalities beyond those directly attributable to the recent trauma.

Microscopic Examination: Heart

Heart sections showed a moderate amount of sub-epicardial fat, with the coronary arteries, myocardial fibers, and endocardium all unremarkable.

Microscopic Examination: Lungs

Lung sections through the right upper lobe contusion exhibited disruption of alveolar walls and recent intra-alveolar hemorrhage; other sections were essentially unremarkable.

Microscopic Examination: Liver

Liver sections showed well-preserved normal hepatic architecture, with parenchymal cells displaying markedly granular cytoplasm indicating high glycogen content—the characteristic “liver biopsy pattern” of sudden death.

Microscopic Examination: Spleen

Spleen sections showed no significant abnormalities.

Microscopic Examination: Kidneys

Kidney sections showed no significant abnormalities apart from dilatation and engorgement of blood vessels of all calibers.

Microscopic Examination: Skin Wounds

Microscopic sections of skin wounds in the occipital and upper right posterior thoracic regions were essentially similar, showing loss of epidermal continuity with coagulation necrosis at wound margins; the scalp wound additionally contained several small bone fragments in the subcutaneous tissue at its margins.

Final Summary of Autopsy Report

The final summary stated that the supplementary report documented in greater detail the extensive cerebral trauma sustained, but that neither the additional gross description nor the microscopic examinations altered the previously submitted report or added significant details to the cause of death. The report was signed by CDR J. J. Humes, MC, USN.

First Endorsement of Autopsy Report A63-272

On 6 December 1963, J. H. Stover, Jr., Commanding Officer of the Naval Medical School, forwarded all copies of the final supplementary autopsy report to the White House Physician via the Commanding Officer of the National Naval Medical Center. The endorsement was then forwarded by C. B. Galloway, Commanding Officer of the National Naval Medical Center, to the White House Physician the same day.

Appendix X: Expert Testimony on Firearms and Firearms Identification

Appendix X introduced expert testimony on firearms and firearms identification given by three witnesses: FBI’s Robert A. Frazier (23 years in the field) and Cortlandt Cunningham (5 years), and Joseph D. Nicol of the Illinois Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (since 1941, trained in the Chicago police crime laboratory). Frazier testified about the rifle, rifle cartridge cases, and rifle bullets; Cunningham about the revolver, revolver cartridge cases, revolver bullets, and the paraffin test; and Nicol about all bullets, cartridge cases, and the paraffin test, reaching the same conclusions as the other experts except as noted.

General Principles of Firearms Identification

This section explains the general principles underlying firearms identification. A cartridge comprises a primer, cartridge case, powder, and bullet; pulling the trigger causes the firing pin to detonate the primer, igniting the powder and propelling the bullet through the rifled barrel. Rifling imparts a stabilizing spin, and weapons of the same make and model share rifling characteristics (groove count, land count, and twist direction), all of which are engraved onto fired bullets. Beyond rifling, every weapon bears distinctive, weapon-unique microscopic characteristics on its barrel, firing pin, and breech face, arising from manufacturing processes (machining, grinding, filing), tool wear, and subsequent use, fouling, cleaning, and corrosion. Frazier explained that these accidental marks—scratches, nicks, dimples, and pattern variations—enable an examiner to identify a cartridge case or bullet as having been fired in a particular weapon to the exclusion of all others, as demonstrated by his comparisons of consecutively manufactured bolt faces and barrel pairs, which showed no shared individual microscopic characteristics. Identification is performed by comparing suspect and test-fired items under a comparison microscope, as illustrated by Frazier’s examination of Commission Exhibit No. 543 (a cartridge case from the Texas School Book Depository), where corresponding numbered circles in the photograph highlight matching microscopic marks in the area immediately outside the firing pin impression of the 6.5 mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (Commission Exhibit No. 139).