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Histological Estimation of Age at Death from the Compact Bone of Burned and Unburned Human Ribs
Author(s) -
Absolonova Karolina,
Veleminsky Petr,
Dobisikova Miluse,
Beran Michal,
Zocova Jarmila
Publication year - 2013
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/j.1556-4029.2012.02303.x
Subject(s) - forensic anthropology , rib cage , human bone , time of death , poison control , medicine , demography , biology , anatomy , archaeology , geography , medical emergency , biochemistry , sociology , in vitro
This study describes the estimation of age at death from the compact bone of burned and unburned human ribs. Bone samples came from individuals of known age, sex, and cause of death. Each bone was divided into four sections; three sections were burned at 700, 800, and 1000°C. Undecalcified, unstained ground cross sections were photographed, and 28 variables were analyzed in the bones using SigmaScan Pro 5. Age‐related as well as heat‐induced microstructural changes were found. These changes were often very similar and made estimating the age at death difficult in the burned bones. Differences between the sexes were found in some variables, caused by both aging and also by the different behavior of some variables during burning. Regression equations were developed to estimate age at death for unburned bones ( r ² = 0.579 and 0.707), bones burned at 700°C ( r ² = 0.453 and 0.501), and 800°C ( r ² = 0.334 and 0.340).