Anatomical human body donation in South Africa: Inconsistencies of informed consent.

Introduction: Informed consent is critical for maintaining the ethical standards associated with the utilization of human donor bodies by tertiary education institutions. Body donation programs undertake the responsibility for procuring human donor bodies for didactic and research purposes. However, its processes require scrutiny regarding best practice guidelines and the South African National Health Act (SA-NHA) (2013).

The accuracy of the Transition Analysis of aging on a heterogenic South African population.

Transition Analysis (TA) is an age estimation method for adult skeletons at death, using three skeletal traits together, namely, the cranial sutures (CS), the pubic symphyses (PS) and the auricular surfaces (AS). In forensic anthropology, estimating age at death is vital for positive identification of an individual; however, differences in skeletal elements have been observed between sex and population affinity. The aim of this study was to determine how accurately the TA could be applied to a population that differed from the original reference samples.

Use of backscattered scanning electron microscopy to quantify the bone tissues of midthoracic human ribs.

Objectives: Novel information on apartheid health conditions may be obtained through the study of recent skeletal collections. Using a backscattered scanning electron microscopy (BSE-SEM) approach, this study aims to produce bone quality and tissue mineralization data for an understudied South African population from the Western Cape province.

Methods: Using BSE-SEM imaging, cortical porosity (Ct.

The Influence of Body Size and Bone Mass on Cortical Bone Histomorphometry in Human Ribs.

This study examines the influence of human adult body size and bone mass on cortical bone histomorphometry, and explores microstructural variation in mid-thoracic ribs. The sample consists of 213 individuals ( female = 82, male = 131, mean age-at-death = 47.96 ± 15.

Sex-specific patterns in cortical and trabecular bone microstructure in the Kirsten Skeletal Collection, South Africa.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide bone histomorphometric reference data for South Africans of the Western Cape who likely dealt with health issues under the apartheid regime.

Methods: The 206 adult individuals ( female = 75, male = 131, mean = 47.9 ± 15.

The association between healed skeletal fractures indicative of interpersonal violence and alcoholic liver disease in a cadaver cohort from the Western Cape, South Africa.

Interpersonal violence (IPV) and heavy alcohol consumption are major problems in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Cranio-maxillofacial fractures, particularly nasal and zygomatic bone fractures, as well as isolated radial fractures (Colles fractures) and ulnar shaft fractures (parry fractures), are indicative of IPV, while alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the consequence of chronic alcohol abuse. We therefore aim to investigate whether a significant association exists between the prevalence of cranio-maxillofacial fractures and parry fractures and ALD in a Western Cape population.