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Average thickness of the bones of the human neurocranium: development of reference measurements to assist with blunt force trauma interpretations

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Abstract

The accurate interpretation of a blunt force head injury relies on an understanding of the case circumstances (extrinsic variables) and anatomical details of the individual (intrinsic variables). Whilst it is often possible to account for many of these variables, the intrinsic variable of neurocranial thickness is difficult to account for as data for what constitutes ‘normal’ thickness is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of age, sex and ancestry on neurocranial thickness, and develop reference ranges for average neurocranial thickness in the context of those biological variables. Thickness (mm) was measured at 20 points across the frontal, left and right parietals, left and right temporals and occipital bones. Measurements were taken from post-mortem computed tomography scans of 604 individuals. Inferential statistics assessed how age, sex and ancestry affected thickness and descriptive statistics established thickness means. Mean thickness ranged from 2.11 mm (temporal squama) to 19.19 mm (petrous portion). Significant differences were noted in thickness of the frontal and temporal bones when age was considered, all bones when sex was considered and the, right parietal, left and right temporal and occipital bones when ancestry was considered. Furthermore, significant interactions in thickness were seen between age and sex in the frontal bone, ancestry and age in the temporal bone, ancestry and sex in the temporal bone, and age, sex and ancestry in the occipital bone. Given the assorted influence of the biological variables, reference measurement ranges for average thickness incorporated these variables. Such reference measurements allow forensic practitioners to identify when a neurocranial bone is of normal, or abnormal, thickness.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences for funding this research and to the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine for providing access to the PMCT DICOM datasets. The authors also wish to thank Annabelle Clancy for the inter-rater data collection and Dr Chris O’Donnell (VIFM) for his comments on the manuscript.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences’ 2019 Oscar Rivers Schmalzbach Foundation Research Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, 65 Kavanagh St, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

    Samantha K. Rowbotham, Stephen M. Cordner & Soren Blau

  2. Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, 65 Kavanagh St, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia

    Samantha K. Rowbotham, Diana Tieppo, Stephen M. Cordner & Soren Blau

  3. Division of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa

    Calvin G. Mole

  4. Centre for Forensic Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Magda Blaszkowska

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  1. Samantha K. Rowbotham
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Samantha K Rowbotham, Stephen M Cordner and Soren Blau; data collection: Diana Tieppo, Magda Blaszkowska and Samantha K Rowbotham; data analysis: Calvin G Mole; writing — original draft preparation: Samantha K Rowbotham; writing — review and editing: Samantha K Rowbotham, Soren Blau, Calvin G Mole, Stephen M Cordner, Diana Tieppo and Magda Blaszkowska; funding acquisition: Samantha K Rowbotham; resources: Samantha K Rowbotham, Soren Blau and Stephen M Cordner.

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Correspondence to Samantha K. Rowbotham.

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This research was approved by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine’s Research Advisory Committee (RAC 002–2019) and Ethics Committee (EC 5–2019).

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Rowbotham, S.K., Mole, C.G., Tieppo, D. et al. Average thickness of the bones of the human neurocranium: development of reference measurements to assist with blunt force trauma interpretations. Int J Legal Med 137, 195–213 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-022-02824-y

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