Oscar Pistorius sick during post-mortem evidence Published duration 10 March 2014

media caption Andrew Harding says it has been "a day of graphic testimony"

Oscar Pistorius vomited in court as he heard a pathologist's testimony about the nature of his girlfriend's injuries after he shot her dead.

Pathologist Gert Saayman told the court that Reeva Steenkamp was shot three times, in the head, hip and arm.

The judge had earlier banned live broadcast of the post-mortem examination testimony.

The Paralympic athlete, on trial for murder, denies intentionally killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Mr Pistorius' body jerked and he retched as he heard the pathologist's evidence, reports the BBC's Pumza Fihlani at the court in Pretoria.

A bucket was placed next to Mr Pistorius, who broke down in tears on several occasions, leading the judge to briefly halt proceedings.

The pathologist described how the wounds on Ms Steenkamp's body were consistent with bullets being fired through a wooden object such as a door.

The wounds to her arm and hip could have killed her because of the extent of the bleeding, Mr Saayman said.

He added that the bullets used were a "black talon" type, designed to cause maximum tissue damage.

The pathologist also said that Ms Steenkamp had eaten within two hours of being killed.

Our correspondent notes this seems to contradict Mr Pistorius' account - that the couple had been in bed for several hours before he woke, thought there was an intruder and mistakenly shot the 29-year-old model and aspiring lawyer four times through the toilet door.

After the trial was adjourned for the day, the athlete remained slumped in the dock for several minutes being comforted by family members.

'Morals of society'

Mr Saayman used the following arguments to persuade Judge Thokozile Masipa to ban broadcasts of his autopsy report:

"Very personal nature of the findings"

"Graphic details of the injuries have the potential to compromise the dignity of the deceased"

It may "harm the rights" of friends and family of the deceased

"Goes against the morals of society"

The judge also banned coverage of the details of the post-mortem examination through Twitter and other social media, but did allow the media to summarise the evidence after it was given.

Large parts of the trial have been televised - a first for South Africa - but there are some media restrictions in place.

image copyright AFP image caption Oscar Pistorius repeatedly retched for about an hour

image copyright Getty Images image caption Oscar Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door

For example, there is a ban on showing the faces of witnesses giving evidence, as well as on close-up shots of people in the courtroom.

Shock

Earlier, a security guard at the compound where Mr Pistorius lived defended his own account of phone calls made in the minutes after the shooting of Ms Steenkamp.

Pieter Baba said he had phoned Mr Pistorius and not the other way round, as the defence team had suggested.

If found guilty, the 27-year-old, a national sporting hero dubbed the "blade runner" after having both lower legs amputated, could face life imprisonment.

On Friday Mr Baba, a security guard working at Mr Pistorius' gated community, spoke of his shock at seeing Mr Pistorius carrying a dying Ms Steenkamp down the stairs at the athlete's villa.

Mr Baba said he had called Mr Pistorius in response to neighbours' reports of gunfire from the house in the early hours of the morning.

The guard said Mr Pistorius had told him: "Everything is fine," before calling him back a few minutes later and crying down the phone.

media caption A look back at the sixth day of the Oscar Pistorius trial

On Monday, Mr Pistorius' defence lawyer suggested the athlete had called Mr Baba first and not the other way round, but the witness stuck to his testimony.

Mr Pistorius' lawyer, Barry Roux, then suggested his client had said: "I am fine," and not: "Everything is fine," but again the witness said this was not true.

"My Lady, what I just told the court is the truth," Mr Baba told the judge.

During an emotional testimony on Friday, his former girlfriend, Samantha Taylor, described how Mr Pistorius fired his gun from his car. The athlete denies doing so.

Mr Pistorius has appeared distraught as the events of 14 February 2013 have been recounted in the court in Pretoria.

The state is seeking to convince the court that Mr Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp, a model, reality TV star and law graduate, had an argument before the athlete fired the shots that killed his girlfriend.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.