J Forensic Sci
September 2011
Past studies and pediatric bone physiology indicate that younger individuals may heal at a faster rate. Additionally, in adults upper limb fractures heal faster than lower limb fractures; this trend is expected for pediatric fractures. This study aims to evaluate and compare rates of fracture repair in children based on age and skeletal element.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2002 the authors were asked to examine the skeletal remains of an individual with a known history of severe cerebral palsy (CP) who was 21-23 years old at death. Skeletal age estimates of 11-15 years and dental age estimates of c. 16 years are younger than the known age of the decedent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report on the application of video skull-photo superimposition as an identification method in a case from Ajo, Arizona in which five individuals died after crossing into southern Arizona from Mexico. Initial analyses at the Pima County Forensic Science Center in Tucson, Arizona determined that the disarticulated skeletal remains represented two adult Hispanic males and three adult Hispanic females. Based on biological profiles, both the males and one of the females were tentatively identified and assigned names.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Phys Anthropol
November 2006
The Lamendin aging method involves the quantification of root translucency and the attachment position of the periodontal membrane. It was developed using recent medical-examiner specimens, and was tested on modern skeletal samples such as the Terry Collection (Lamendin et al. [1992] J.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis paper reports a bilaterally symmetrical cranio-facial fracture pattern that is observed in self-inflicted, midline gunshot wounds. Five cases of self-inflicted gunshots wounds are presented as follows: two high-powered rifle cases, two shotgun cases, and one handgun case. In all five cases the remains were either decomposing or skeletonized and submitted to forensic anthropologists.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 1993 Supreme Court case Daubert v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. underscores the importance of validating forensic science techniques.
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