Computed Tomography as a Supplement for Analyzing Antemortem and Perimortem Blunt Force Cranial Trauma
Date
2019
Authors
Marks, Felicia
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Abstract
Within the field of forensic anthropology, skeletal trauma analysis plays a critical role in reconstructing the events surrounding the life and death of an individual. For example, analyzing cranial blunt force trauma (BFT) could provide insight into a history of abuse based on the amount of healing present. Blunt force trauma to the skull has been researched extensively in the past, but to date has not focused on interpreting the timing of fractures to differentiate early antemortem from perimortem stages of healing. The goal of this research was to examine the fracture characteristics present by traditional macroscopic assessment, then enhancing the details of cranial injuries through computed tomography (CT) in order to have better visualization and aid in determining the timing of fractures. A total of 23 antemortem and 20 perimortem BFT injuries were initially observed within a sample of 30 skulls from skeletal collections at the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center and National Museum of Natural History. The skeletal collections consisted of the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection, and the Peruvian skeletal collection created by Aleš Hrdlička in the early 1900s. This study revealed that by using computed tomography for analyzing cranial blunt force trauma, there was no significant difference in the further classification of fracture timing for early antemortem and perimortem defects.
Description
Keywords
Forensic anthropology, Computed tomography (CT), Trauma
Citation
Marks, Felicia. Computed Tomography as a Supplement for Analyzing Antemortem and Perimortem Blunt Force Cranial Trauma, 2019.