Skip to main content

Pathology as a Factor of Personal Identity in Forensic Anthropology

  • Chapter
Forensic Anthropology and Medicine

Abstract

In many forensic anthropology cases, the biological profile is not sufficient to achieve positive identification. In those cases, bone pathology is a paramount criterion. Besides being crucial for identification, it can also give insights into cause and manner of death.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Sauer, N. J., Simson, L. R. Clarifying the role of forensic anthropologists in death investigations. J. Forensic Sci. 29:1081–1086, 1984.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Komar, D. (at Lessons from Srebrenica: the contributions and limitations of physical anthropology in identifying victims of war crimes. J. Forensic Sci. 48:713–716, 2003.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Black, S. Forensic Anthropology. An introduction and summary of procedures. 2004. http://www.bahid.org/docs/NCF_Anthro.html. Last accessed Dec. 31, 2005.

  4. Cunha, E., Umbelino, C., Tavares, T. Necrópole de S&atiled;o Pedro de Marialva. Dados antropológicos [in Portuguese]. Patrimon. Estud. 1:139–143, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sauer, N. The timing of injuries and manner of death: distinguishing among antemortem, perimortem and post-mortem trauma. In: Reichs, K., ed., Forensic Osteology. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, pp. 321–332, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ubelaker, D. Taphonomic applications in forensic anthropology. In: Haglund, W., Sorg. M, eds., Forensic Taphonomy. The Postmortem Fate of Human Remains. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 77–88, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Willey, P., Heilman, A. Estimating Time since death using plant roots and stems. J. Forensic Sci. 32:1264–1270, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Reichs, K. Postmortem dismemberment: recovery, analysis and interpretation. In: Reichs, K., ed., Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains, 2nd Ed. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Skinner, M., Alempijevic, D., Djuric-Srejic, M. Guidelines for international forensic bio-archaeology monitors of mass grave exhumations. Forensic Sci. Int. 134:81–92, 2003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Ortner, D. Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains, 2nd Ed. Academic, New York, NY, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Budimlija, Z., Mechthild, K., Zelson-Mundorff, A., et al. World Trade Center Human Identification Project: experiences with individual body identification cases. Croat. Med. J. 44:259–263, 2003.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kahana, T., Ravioli, J., Urroz, C., Hiss, J. Radiographic identification of fragmentary human remains from a mass disaster. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 18:40–44, 1997.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Steyn, M., Iscan, M. Y. Bone pathology and antemortem trauma in forensic cases. In: Siegel, J. A., Saukko, P. J., Knufer, G. C., eds., Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences Academic, San Diego, CA, pp. 217–227, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Angyal, M., Derczy, K. Personal identification on the basis of antemortem and postmortem radiographs. J. Forensic Sci. 43:1089–1093, 1998.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Valenzuela, A. Radiographic comparison of the lumbar spine for positive identification of human remains. A case report. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 18:215–217, 1997.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kennedy, K. Assessment of occupational stress. In: Siegel, J. A., Saukko, P. J., Knupfer, G. C., eds., Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences. Academic, San Diego, CA, pp. 212–217, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Aufderheide, A., Rodríguez-Martín, C. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Cunha, E. A Paleopatologia como factor de individualização em antropologia forense. Lição de síntese. Provas de agregação [in Portuguese]. Universidade de Coimbra, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Cunha, E., Mendonça, M. C. Anthropologie médico-légale: contribution de la paléopathologie à un cas des Açores. In: Vieira, D. N., Rebelo, A., Corte-Real, F., eds., Temas de Medicina Legal II [in Portuguese]. Centro de Estudos de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Legal, Coimbra, pp. 121–126, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Manuel, R., Cunha, E., Pinheiro, J., Ribeiro, I., Santos. J. C. Revisiting old forensic cases from Lisbon: two interesting cases. Poster presented at the 1st meeting of Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe. Frankfurt, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Resnick, D., Niwayama, G. Diagnosis of Bone and Joint Disorders. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Cunha, E. Aproximación paleopatológica a algunas enfermedades reumáticas. In: Isidro, A., Malgosa, A., eds., Paleopatología. La Enfermedad no Escrita [in Spanish]. Masson, Barcelona pp. 209–220, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Alava, R. A., Azcárate, C. G., Soler, M.-C. B., Etxeberria, F. G. El valor de la patología ósea en la identificación personal, a propósito de un caso de espondilitis anquilosante [in Spanish]. Cuad. Med. Forense 22:53–58, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Resnick, D. Bone and Joint Imaging, 2nd Ed. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Pinheiro, J., Cunha, E., Cordeiro, C., Vieira, D. N. Bridging the gap between forensic anthropology and osteoarchaeology: a case of vascular pathology. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 14:137–144, 2004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Hunter, J. R., Brickley, M. B., Bourgeois, J., et al. Forensic archaeology, forensic anthropology and human rights in Europe. Sci. Just. 41:173–178, 2001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Roberts, C. A. Forensic anthropology 2: positive identification of the individual; cause and manner of death. In: Hunter, J., Roberts, C., Martin, A., eds., Studies in Crime: an Introduction to Forensic Archaeology. Berttler and Tanner, London, pp. 122–137, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Roberts, C. A., Boyslston, A., Buckely, L., Chamberlain, A., Murphy, E. Rib lesions and tuberculosis: the paleopathological evidence. Tuber. Lung Dis. 1998, 79:55–60, 1998.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Etxeberria, F. Patología traumatica. In: Isidro, A., Malgosa, A., eds., Paleopatología. La Enfermedad no Escrita [in Spanish]. Masson, Barcelona, pp. 195–204, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Bennett, J. L., Benedix, D. C. Positive identification of remains recovered from an automobile based on presence of an internal fixation device. J. Forensic Sci, 44:1296–1298, 1999.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Ubelaker, D. Skeletons testify: Anthropology in forensic science AAPA luncheon Ardes: April 12, 1996. Yearb. Phys. Anthropol. 39:229–244, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Macedo, M. C., Cunha, E. When an obvious factor of individualization becomes useless. Poster presented at the 1st Forensic Anthropology Society if Europe meeting. Frankfurt, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Dimaio, V. J., Francis, J. R. Heterotopic ossification in unidentified remains. Am. J. Forensic Pathol. 22:160–164, 2001.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Rissech, C., Schmitt, A., Malgosa, A., Cunha, E. Influencia de las patologias en los indicadores de edad adulta del coxal: estúdio preliminar [in Portuguese]. Antropol. Port. vol. 20-21, 2003–2004.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Pickering, R., Bachman, D. C. The Use of Forensic Anthropology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Barnes, E. Developmental defects of the axial skeleton in paleopathology. University of Colorado Press, Denver, CO, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Mann, R., Murphy, S. Regional Atlas of Bone Disease. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Ubelaker, D. Interpretación de las anomalías esqueléticas y su contribución a la investigación forense [in Spanish]. Cuad Med. Forense 33:3542, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Maples, W. The Identifying pathology. In: Ratbun, T. A., Buikstra, J. E., eds., Human Identification: Cases Studies in Forensic Anthropology. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, pp. 363–370, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Cunha, E. (2006). Pathology as a Factor of Personal Identity in Forensic Anthropology. In: Schmitt, A., Cunha, E., Pinheiro, J. (eds) Forensic Anthropology and Medicine. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-099-7_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-099-7_14

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-824-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-099-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics