Taking the stand for the defense, nationally renowned gunshot-wound expert Dr. Vincent Di Maio stated that Trayvon Martin‘s fatal injury was consistent with the defendant’s story- that the teen was on top of him and leaning over when he fired his gun in self-defense.

George Zimmerman has consistently claimed that Martin attacked him first during the altercation that led to the young man’s death last spring. A former neighborhood watch captain, Zimmerman has been accused of profiling Martin and instigating a confrontation.

“If you lean over someone, you notice the clothing tends to fall away from the chest,” Di Maio explained during Tuesday’s testimony. “If instead you’re lying on your back and someone shoots you, the clothing is going to be against your chest.”

The expert pathologist also testified that Zimmerman’s documented head injuries could have been caused by repeated slams against cement-and that such wounds can be ‘very dangerous.’

Di Maio’s testimony directly contrasted that of the prosecution’s expert, Dr. Valerie Rao, who last week claimed that Zimmerman’s injuries were ‘very insignificant’ and that the cut on the back of his head- ostensibly inflicted by Martin as he smashed Zimmerman’s head against the concrete- was not even serious enough to warrant stitches.

Discovering who was the aggressor in the February 26th, 2012 scuffle that ended in the death of teenage Martin is the issue at the heart of the trial in which Zimmerman is being charged with second-degree murder.