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Distinction between perimortem and postmortem fractures in human cranial bone

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Abstract

Timing of cranial trauma is challenging in forensic cases and literature on the subject is scarce. This study analysed the macroscopic fracture patterns of perimortem cranial fractures and compared them to experimentally reproduced cranial fractures on dry human craniums. The results showed nine traits associated with fresh cranial fractures: undulated margin, flake defects, peels with peel defects, fissures, crushed margins, bridge, bone scales and beveling. All the traits appear on the outer table or on the inner table of the cranium. Although not all characteristics must be present at the same time in all cranial fractures, they do define a new perimortem fracture pattern. Statistical analyses showed that six of these traits (undulated margins, flake defects, crushed margins, bone scales, fissures and peels) are distinctly related with perimortem (fresh) bone conditions. Considering the most discriminant perimortem traits, a decision-making algorithm is developed as a probabilistic approach to distinguish peri- from postmortem cranial fractures with an accuracy of 87%. This algorithm allows the forensic practitioner to incorporate more confidence during cranial trauma evaluation.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks go to the technicians and personnel staff of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia (IMLCFC) and to the staff of the medical department of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). They thank Vincent Scheirs for the design and construction of the Blunt Force Trauma Simulator. Lastly, they are very grateful to the research group of Biological Anthropology (GREAB) for the financial aid from project SGR14-1420.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the Project SGR14-1420, research group of Biological Anthropology (GREAB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forensic Anthropology Unit, Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya (IMLCFC), Ciutat de la Justícia, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 111 Edifici, G 08075, Barcelona, Spain

    Patrícia Ribeiro, Sarah Scheirs, Marisa Ortega-Sánchez, Hannah McGlynn & Ignasi Galtés

  2. Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Informatics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Patrícia Ribeiro

  3. Tissue Repair and Regeneration (TR2Lab), Experimental Sciences and Methodology Department, Faculty of Health Science and Welfare, University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain

    Xavier Jordana

  4. Biological Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Sarah Scheirs, Hannah McGlynn & Ignasi Galtés

  5. Anatomy and Embriology Unit, Morphological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marisa Ortega-Sánchez & Alfonso Rodriguez-Baeza

Authors
  1. Patrícia Ribeiro
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  2. Xavier Jordana
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  3. Sarah Scheirs
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  4. Marisa Ortega-Sánchez
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  5. Alfonso Rodriguez-Baeza
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  6. Hannah McGlynn
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  7. Ignasi Galtés
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ignasi Galtés.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All autopsy samples are stored in private collection at the IMLCFC, registered as a collection at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Reference C.0004241).

Dry samples (UAB): This study was approved by the Ethic Commission of Human and Animal Experimental Work (CEEAH) of the UAB, in compliance with the ethical regulations.

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Informed consent was not required for this study.

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Ribeiro, P., Jordana, X., Scheirs, S. et al. Distinction between perimortem and postmortem fractures in human cranial bone. Int J Legal Med 134, 1765–1774 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02356-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02356-3

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