Fracture pattern interpretation in the skull: differentiating blunt force from ballistics trauma using concentric fractures.

There have been several anthropological studies on trauma analysis in recent literature, but few studies have focused on the differences between the three mechanisms of trauma (sharp force trauma, blunt force trauma and ballistics trauma). The hypothesis of this study is that blunt force and ballistics fracture patterns in the skull can be differentiated using concentric fractures. Two-hundred and eleven injuries from skulls exhibiting concentric fractures were examined to determine if the mechanism of trauma could be determined by beveling direction.