Forensic anthropology
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The article deals with forensic anthropology, which is, essentially, examining skeletal remains.
Purpose
- Look at bones[1] may assist in:
- Identification - age, sex.
- Cause of death.
Animal vs. human
- Size.
- Shape.
Age
- Epiphysis not fused to metaphysis = young.
- Epiphysis fused to metaphysis = old.
Male versus female
Pelvic:[2]
- Pelvic inlet (superior) - heart-shaped in male, round in female.
- Pelvic outlet (inferior) - small in male, large in female.
- Obturator foramen (shape) - round in males, oval in females.
- Acetabulum (size) - large in males, small in females.
- Subpubic angle - ~70 degrees in males, 90-100 degrees in females.
- Sciatic notch (shape) - broad in females, narrow in males.[3]
Mandible:
- Angle of mandible (shape) - square-ish in male, round in female.[3]
Skull:
- Supraorbital ridges - more prominent in males.
- Glabella - more prominent in males.
- Temporal lines[4] (temporalis muscle attachment) - more prominent in males.
Notes:
- Anthropologic grouping is not absolute, i.e. it may be wrong.
- Femoral neck-shaft angles not discriminative.[5]
Additional references
- Dirkmaat DC, Cabo LL, Ousley SD, Symes SA (2008). "New perspectives in forensic anthropology". Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. Suppl 47: 33–52. doi:10.1002/ajpa.20948. PMID 19003882.
- Cattaneo C (January 2007). "Forensic anthropology: developments of a classical discipline in the new millennium". Forensic Sci. Int. 165 (2-3): 185–93. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2006.05.018. PMID 16843626.
See also
References
- ↑ Sarvesvaran R, Knight BH (December 1994). "The examination of skeletal remains". Malays J Pathol 16 (2): 117–26. PMID 9053560.
- ↑ Moore Keith L.; Dalley Arthur F. (1999). Clinically Oriented Anatomy (4th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 336. ISBN 978-0683061413.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 URL: http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/comic/activity/pdf/Skeleton_male_or_female.pdf. Accessed on: 8 September 2010.
- ↑ URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray132.png. Accessed on: 9 September 2010.
- ↑ Anderson JY, Trinkaus E (February 1998). "Patterns of sexual, bilateral and interpopulational variation in human femoral neck-shaft angles". J. Anat. 192 ( Pt 2): 279–85. PMC 1467761. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1467761/.
