A powder burn is a type of

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

caused by exposure to the combustion gases which are expelled from the muzzle of a firearm as it is fired. Powder burns only occur when the individual is in close proximity to the discharging firearm, as the gases quickly dissipate. This can be an indicator on a corpse of whether the person was shot at

point-blank range Point-blank range is any distance over which a certain firearm can hit a target without the need to compensate for bullet drop, and can be adjusted over a wide range of distances by sighting in the firearm. If the bullet leaves the barrel par ...

or not.

References

Burns Gunpowder {{injury-stub