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Practical - LL Bones

The document discusses methods for analyzing human bones to determine key details like species, sex, age, stature, geographic origin, time since death, cause of death, and whether multiple bones belong to the same individual. Visual examination, histological examination, and immunological examination can be used to identify species. Features like medullary index can indicate sex. Age can be estimated by examining bone microstructure. Formulas exist to estimate stature from bone lengths. Location can sometimes be inferred. Time since death and cause can potentially be deduced from bone appearance and signs of trauma.

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Rahul Gejje
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44 views24 pages

Practical - LL Bones

The document discusses methods for analyzing human bones to determine key details like species, sex, age, stature, geographic origin, time since death, cause of death, and whether multiple bones belong to the same individual. Visual examination, histological examination, and immunological examination can be used to identify species. Features like medullary index can indicate sex. Age can be estimated by examining bone microstructure. Formulas exist to estimate stature from bone lengths. Location can sometimes be inferred. Time since death and cause can potentially be deduced from bone appearance and signs of trauma.

Uploaded by

Rahul Gejje
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction

• Bones are the living connective tissue which is composed of protein (collagen)
and mineral (hydroxyapatite).
• Attachment to the soft tissues, protects the vital organs, locomotion by giving
attachment to muscles, tendons and ligaments.
• Storage of fats and minerals and synthesis of blood cells (hemopoiesis).
• Hence bones are the dynamic tissue which undergoes growth during development,
responding to day to day stress and strain and reactivation to repair the fracture
site.
1. Is the bone human? (Species identification) - (Origin)
2. If human - Does it belong to a male or female?- (Sex).
3. What could be the age at death? (Age)
4. What could be the height at death? (Stature)
5. Which part of the world he/she belongs? (Race)
6. How long ago death could have occurred? (Time since death)
7. What could be the cause of death? (Cause of death)
8. What could be the manner of death? (Etiology of death)
9. Is there any peculiar feature due to occupation, disease or trauma not connected to the
cause of death or unusual features.
10. When two or more than two bones are available, is it mandatory to find out whether
they belong to the same or different individual ?
Femur

• Femur is the most useful of all


the long bones of humans, since
it is the longest, strongest and
heaviest bone bearing all of the
body weight during walking,
standing and running.
Indian-86.49

Humerofemoral index: length of humerus by length of


femur x 100 Indian-71.11
• Karl pearson’s formula: a constant factor is to be added to the product of the length
of the bone with the multiplying factor
• Femur- (M) 81.306 +1.880 x length of femur,
(F)72.884+1.945 x length
• Tibia – (M)78.664 + 2.376 x length,
(F) 74.774 +2.352 X length
• Humerus –(M) 70.641+2.891 x length,
(F)71.745+ 2.754 x length
• The formula based on length of a given long bone has a proportion of stature invented by Topinard and Pan. The wet
bones are used and it should be measured in inches.

• Nat method is suited for dry bones, maximum length measured in inches for each bone and multiplied with a
multiplication factor as follows.
1. Humerus × 5.30
2. Radius × 6.90
3. Ulna × 6.30
4. Femur × 3.70
5. Tibia and fibula × 4.48
• Medullary Index = The ratio between the width of the medulla and total width of
the bone in cross section.
• All the long bones are provided with cortex and medulla. The weight of the bone
depends upon the cortex. As the medullary portion in female is more, the bones of
the females are lighter and thin/slender.
Medicolegal Importance
• Medullary index is useful in sex determination in long bone such as femur, ulna
and radius.
Species Identification

To find out the species of a bone three methods are useful which depends upon the
nature of the available bone.
• Visual examination,
• Microscopic Examination
• Immunological examination.
Visual Examination

• When the bone is full and intact, a gross appearance will speak about its origin.
• The size and shape of a bone determined by form and functional differences
between the animal and human.
• For example, the forelimb bones in animals (pronograde and quadruped) are more
massive and stronger to perform fast running and also to bear the weight of the anterior
half of the body and head, whereas their counterparts in human (orthograde and biped) are
modified to perform useful functions.
• This is applicable to all the bones; hence knowledge of comparison anatomy is
more useful in determining the origin.
• Cortex of long bone in human is 1/4 of total diameter, whereas in other mammals
1/3 of cut section.
Histological Examination

• If incomplete and broken bones or small bones alone is given, visual examination
is no way useful. During that occasion microscopic examination of a thin bone
section is useful to differentiate human from animal.
• The human bone can be identified by the lamellae with well developed haversian
system.
• The animal bone with lamellar pattern and ill developed haversian canals.
• In humans, osteons are scattered. Whereas in animals, they are lined up in rows
like a stack of bricks.
Immunological Examination

• When the available bone is very small, irregular or fragmented, then prepare a
solution with weak hydrochloric acid or ammonia and this solution that contains
bone protein is the antigen. When this antigen is treated with specific antibody,
antigen-antibody reaction occurs with precipitation.
• If the test solution from the bone reacts with antibody of human, it is of human
origin.
• If it does not react, it is negative for human antibody and hence it is not of human
origin.
Age Determination from Long Bones after
Maturity
• Thin section from the shafts of long bones can be examined under low powered
microscope to study the structural changes associated with advancement of age in
the outer third of the cortex for the following
• components.
1. Number of osteones
2. Number of fragmented osteones
3. Percentage of circumferential lamellar bone
4. Number of non-haversian canals.
• The first two components increase with advancing age and the second two
components decrease with advancing age and disappear completely after 55 to 60
years.
Methods of Examination

• Visual Test
Bone should be examined for the following physical characters.
1. Soft tissues remnants
2. Weight
3. Colour
4. Texture
5. Odour
TIME SINCE DEATH

Based on physical appearance


• If soft tissues are still attached : 2weeks to 2months
• No soft tissue but greasy : 1-3months
• Completely dry but foul smell : 3months to 1 year
• After 1yr unpreserved bones get destroyed.
• Physical tests: silvery-blue fluorescence in
ultraviolet light
• From 3 to 80 years, greatly depending upon the
environmental conditions, the outer zone and the
zone around the marrow cavity progressively lose
fluorescence
• After a century or more, the residual
fluorescence contracts to a narrowing central
sandwich
• By second century fluorescence completely
vanishes.
• Chemical tests: diminishing of amino
acids, Nitrogen, Serological Test:
Detection of blood pigments from the
bone with benzedine or phenolphthalein
reagents is positive only up to 100 years.
• Radio nucleotide method: radiocarbon
(C-14) analysis (this method is, however,
insufficient for a PMI of less than 100
years)
• strontium-90 and plutonium is used for
shorter PMI.
CAUSE OF DEATH

• It can be made out if there are


• Fractures or marks of deep cuts in bones, or marks of burns or
evidence of firearm injuries or any disease.
• Metallic poisons can be found in bones long after death.
• Do all the Bones Belong to the Same Individual or Different Individuals?
• To solve this problem of individualization of given bones, the inferences
ascertained such as age, sex, race and stature and time since death should be
compared and corroborated. If there is any discrimination in the inferences or
bones of two individuals of the same age and sex died at the same time and buried
in the same pit, individualization can be made out with the following methods:
1. Anatomical matching
2. Articular matching
3. UV lamp examination
4. Serological examination
5. DNA profile
THANK YOU

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