ANTH 6-Forensic Anthropology
Trauma, Pathology and Taphonomy
Handout (material adapted from Byers 2002)

Trauma
Basics of Bone Trauma
fracture
displacement
complete fracture
hinge fracture
greenstick
simple fracture
comminuted fracture
fracture line
radiating fractures
radiating fracture lines
concentric fracturing
butterfly fractures
hoop fractures
pathological fractures
stress fractures
fatigue fractures
“dowager’s hump”
 

Characteristics of Forces Causing Trauma
Direction of Force
tension
compression
torsion
bending
shearing
Colles’s fracture
wide focus
 

Types of Trauma
Blunt Trauma
Sharp Trauma
Projectile Trauma
Miscellaneous Trauma
 

Timing of Bone Injury
Antemortem
Perimortem
Postmortem
 

Blunt trauma
Characteristics of instruments
size
shape
patterned injuries
weight
 

Effects of Blunt Instruments
Skull
Facial
Buttresses
alveolar ridge
malar eminences
nasofrontal processes of The maxillae
Le Fort Fractures
Le Fort I
Le Fort II
Le Fort III
Vault
More Buttresses
midfrontal
midoccipital
posterior temporal
anterior temporal
ring fracture
 

Long Bones
 

Other Bones
 

Sharp Trauma
Effects of Sharp Instruments
puncture
incision
cleft or notch
striation
wastage
 

Wound Analysis
description of wounds
instrument characteristics
direction of force
number of traumatic events
sequence of events
 

Projectile Trauma
Basics of Ammunition and Firearms
Size
caliber
gauge
pellets
Bullet Construction
hollow points
jacket
full-metal jacket
semijacket
 

Projectile Velocity
Basics of bullet travel
Rifling
penetrating (entrance) wound
exit wound
 

Effects of Bullets on Bone
wound beveling
inward beveling
outward beveling
reverse beveling
 

Wound Shapes
round / oval wounds
keyhole wounds
irregular wounds
 

Wound Size
Fracture Lines
radiating fracture lines
concentric fracturing
butterfly fractures
 

Miscellaneous Trauma
Strangulation
hanging
ligature
manual strangulation
hyoid (?)
 

Chemical Trauma
 

Anomalies and Pathology
Lytic lesions
anemia
porotic hyperostosis
necrosis
Schmorl’s nodes
proliferative lesions
osteophytes
generalized bone disease
button osteoma
deformative lesions
wedging
osteomalacia
kyphosis
scoliosis
 

Accessory Bones
wormian bones
epiteric bone
os japonium (os japonicum)
rickets (lack of vitamin D)
 

Non-Fusion Anomalies
metopism
spondylolysis
spina bifida
bipartite patella
congenital pseudoarthrosis
os triangulare
os trigonum
 

Accessory Foramen
foramen of Huschke
septal aperture
 

Miscellaneous Anomalies
trepination (trephination)
trauma-induced pseudoarthrosis
 

Occupational Stress Markers
hypertrophy
osteophytosis (caution here: take age into account)
facets
grooves
deformations
tori
accessory bones

Questions? Comments? Corrections?? email me!