Premium
Microscopic Pattern of Bone Fractures as an Indicator of Blast Trauma: A Pilot Study
Author(s) -
Pechníková Marketa,
Mazzarelli Debora,
Poppa Pasquale,
Gibelli Daniele,
Scossa Baggi Emilio,
Cattaneo Cristina
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12818
Subject(s) - blunt , medicine , forensic anthropology , fracture (geology) , blunt trauma , compression (physics) , blast injury , bone fracture , dentistry , surgery , orthodontics , poison control , materials science , emergency medicine , radiology , composite material , archaeology , history
The assessment of fractures is a key issue in forensic anthropology; however, very few studies deal with the features of fractures due to explosion in comparison with other traumatic injuries. This study focuses on fractures resulting from blast trauma and two types of blunt force trauma (manual compression and running over), applied to corpses of pigs; 163 osteons were examined within forty fractures by the transmission light microscopy. Blast lesions showed a higher percentage of fracture lines through the Haversian canal, whereas in other types of trauma, the fractures went across the inner lamellae. Significant differences between samples hit by blast energy and those runover or manually compressed were observed ( p < 0.05). The frequency of pattern A is significantly higher in exploded bones than in runover and compressed. Microscopic analysis of the fracture line may provide information about the type of trauma, especially for what concerns blast trauma.