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Differentiation between perimortem trauma and heat-induced damage: the use of perimortem traits on burnt long bones

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Abstract

Burnt human remains present a difficult interpretative dilemma to forensic pathologists and anthropologists. Distinguishing postmortem damage in long bones as a result of fire damage from perimortem fractures is an important challenge in trauma analysis. During our case investigation of a burnt body from a fiery car crash, distinct perimortem traits on long bone fractures were still distinguishable along the charred areas. Next to timing of fractures and shortening the perimortem time gap suggesting that the fractures occurred when soft tissue was still present, the traits make it possible to distinguish blunt trauma caused by the accident from heat-induced bone damage. Applying this specific perimortem pattern could be an additional macroscopic tool to interpret blunt force trauma more accurately in the analysis of burnt remains.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Hannah McGlynn for proofreading the manuscript.

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Ignasi Galtés & Sarah Scheirs

  2. Biological Anthropology Unit, Department of Animal Biology, Vegetal Biology and Ecology (BAVE), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain

    Ignasi Galtés & Sarah Scheirs

  3. Legal Medicine Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain

    Ignasi Galtés

Authors
  1. Ignasi Galtés
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  2. Sarah Scheirs
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Correspondence to Sarah Scheirs.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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This study was approved by the Ethics Commission of the Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge – Institut de Medicina Legal i Ciències Forenses de Catalunya (CEIC, Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Salut), in order to comply with the ethical requirements.

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Galtés, I., Scheirs, S. Differentiation between perimortem trauma and heat-induced damage: the use of perimortem traits on burnt long bones. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 15, 453–457 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-019-00118-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-019-00118-1

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