forensic relevance

1. Semina r
PRESENTED BY-
ASHEESH BABU PATEL
(PG RESIDENT- 1st YEAR)
DATE- 02/11/2020
DEPT. OF FORENSIC MEDICINE AND
TOXICOLOGY, LATE. B.R.K.M.G.M.C.
JAGDALPUR, C.G.
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EXAMINATION OF BONE (IN GENERAL)
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2. CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Source of bone for medicolegal examination
• Anatomy of bone
• Information that can be sought from examination of skeletal remains
• Aids and Tools for examination of bone
• Medicolegal importance
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3. INTRODUCTION
Forensic osteology is a sub-speciality of forensic medicine and deals with
examination and assessment of human skeleton. The assessment includes both-
the identification of victims characteristics and cause and manner of death from
skeleton.1 Sometimes bones are found disposed off in jungle, in the open, in the
ditches or rubbish dumps, etc., or may be found while digging foundation for
buildings or skeleton may be exhumed. In case of mass disaster, where many
persons die in the same area at the same time from fire, air crashes, etc., the help
of the anthropologist is sought in identification, if the remains are skeletonised,
badly burnt or mostly destroyed.2
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4. SOURCE OF BONES FOR MEDICOLEGAL EXAMINATION
• Police/magistrate requisition for medicolegal examination,
panchnama,
• Scene/photograph from where bone is recovered, map.
• source of bone -
• In the open, in jungle
• In rubbish dumps
• Exhumated
• Charred bone etc.
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5. ANATOMY OF BONE
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6. Given article is bone or not ?
• The bone can be differentiated from other object that look like bone
or dummy bone by-
• external appearance- muscular marking, presence of growth plate, growth
plate fusion marking etc.
• By X-ray examination – showing trabeculation, bone marrow, dense bone
which are feature of original bone.
• On cut section original bone show haversian system in diaphysis and cancellus
bone in epiphysis or cancellous bone between two layers of compact bone in
case of flat bones.
• Precipitation test can differentiate between human bone and other bone like
objects.
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7. INFORMATION THAT CAN BE SOUGHT FROM
EXAMINATION OF SKELETAL REMAINS
2. Belong to human being ?
• By anatomy(gross and microscopic features- larger haversian system and canal)
• Serological examination - Precipitin test with specific antisera of human
1.Bone or not ?
by- 1. gross examination
2. microscopic examination -
Haversian system and presence of osteons
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8. a b
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9. 4. Race
1. cephalic index – skull bone
2. from teeth features
3. features and indices of long bones
3. One individual or more ?
1. if belong to same individual - race, age, sex, stature, time since death and fit
snugly and nicely at their corresponding joints.
2. mixed agglutination test
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10. 5. sex
• All bone- 100%
• Pelvis + skull- 98%
• Pelvis- 95%
• Skull- 90 %
• Long bones- 80%
Can be determined by - Morphological examination
Morphometry or osteometry
Multivariate discrimination function analysis
Demonstration of Y- chromosome
DNA profiling
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11. 6. AGE
Age at the time of death from bone/skeleton is determined by noting
the-
• Ossification data- appearance and fusion of ossification centers
• Age related changes in individual bones
• Radiographic method
• Histological method – size and number of osteon increases with age
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12. 7. STATURE
• For estimation of stature long bone are more reliable than flat and irregular
bones.1
• When stature is estimated from a bone , an allowance of 2.5- 4 cm is added to
the calculated stature in order to compensate the loss of soft tissues.1
• Different formulae are used to estimate stature-1
1. Karl pearson
2. Trotter and glesser
3. Dupertuis haden
4. Pan
5. Nat
6. Shah and siddiqui
For fragmented bone-1
1. Muller
2. Steele
3. Steele and McKern
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13. 8. ADDITIONAL IDENTIFICATION FEATURES2
• Special feature in teeth- torsion, angulation, staining, cracks, caries, sealings etc.
• Features in bone- bony deformities, healed fracture, malunion etc.
• In some cases – DNA testing may be helpful.
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14. 9. CAUSE OF DEATH
• In most cases not possible,3
• Ante-mortem injury to bones covering the vital organs
• Ante-mortem fracture of bones of non-vital parts suggest serious assault
• Some poisons like As can be detected
In some cases cause of death can be ascertained-3
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15. 10. TYPE OF WEAPON
• Hard blunt weapon
• Light heavy sharp cutting
• Pointed or firearm injury
• tuberculosis
• Sarcoma
• Thalassemia, pagets disease of bone, congenital
disease and deformities, metabolic bone disease etc.
• helps in identification and may indicate COD
By examination of injury over skeleton type of weapon used can be known-
11. Disease or pathology
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16. 12. TIME SINCE DEATH
• Time of death can only be roughly ascertained3
Condition of bone Time since death
Bone + soft tissue(fascia, ligaments) 2 weeks – 2 months2
Bone ( wet, no soft tissue attached) 1 to 3 months2
Bone (dry with putrid smell) Within 3 months2
Bone ( dry, no putrid smell, retained
normal colour)
3 months – 1 year2
• After some years unpreserved bone get destroyed and gradually reduce to dust, but
exact ageing of skeletonization is not possible. 2
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17. the Exclusion of a Forensically Relevant Lay Time
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19. 13. By site and type of fracture or detection of any poison or
pathology , nature of death may be said
- ex. Deposition of heavy metal Pb in the growing part of bone at metaphysis.
14. Mode and place of disposal -
• Deep grave – skeletonize slowly
• Open air – dries up early
• In forest/water – bone may be partly eaten by animal
• Stains on bone – gives idea about place of disposal
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20. 15. MANNER OF SEPARATION
• Natural separation
• Unnatural separation- assault, accident, by animal etc.
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21. Aids/Tools for examination of bone
• Osteometric board
• Weighing scale for bone
• Bone chart
• Microscopy – haversian system
• UV fluorescence
• Specific gravity and density test- decreases with bone become older
• Benzidine test and Kastel-Mayer test – detects presence of blood and may be positive upto 100 years.
• Precipitation test, gel diffusion or Coomb’s test may be positive for 5-10 years
• DNA analysis
• Nitrogen content and amino acid content- decreases with time
• X-ray ,CT-scan (radiographic techniques)
• Carbon-14 dating
• Strontium and plutonium dating etc.
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22. Osteometric board
Weighing scales
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23. Bone chart
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24. a b
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25. MEDICOLEGAL IMPORTANCE
• Identification of victim
• Identification of missing person
• Antemortem vs postmortem trauma
• Cause of death, manner of death can be known
• Time since death.
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26. bibliography
1. Bardale R., Forensic Osteology, Principles of forensic medicine and
toxicology, 1st edition 2011.
2. Reddy K.S.N. ,Murthy O.P., Medicolegal Autopsy, The essential of forensic
medicine and toxicology, 24th edition 2017.
3. Nandy A. ,Death and Post-Mortem changes, Principles of Forensic
Medicine including Toxicology, 3rd edition 2010.
4. Black S.M., Bone Pathology and Antemortem Trauma, Encyclopedia of
Forensic and Legal Medicine, 2005 Elsevier Ltd. P. 105-112
5. Verhoff M.A. and Kreutz K., Macroscopical Findings on Soil-Embedded
Keletal Remains Allowing the Exclusion of a Forensically Relevant Lay
Time, Forensic Pathology Reviews, vol-3, Edited by: M Tsokos, 2005,
p244-247.
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27. THANK YOU
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