NCJ Number
246085
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 58 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2013 Pages: 578-582
Date Published
May 2013
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this analysis is to present histological methodology for the interpretation of bones altered by thermal processes.
Abstract
The analysis of burned human remains has been of great interest among forensic anthropologists largely due to the difficulty that their recovery, classification, reconstruction, and identification present. The main purpose of this analysis is to present histological methodology for the interpretation of bones altered by thermal processes. Researchers include analyses of the microscopic changes among bones exposed to different temperatures, with the goal of establishing categories of histological morphology in relation to fire temperature. Samples of bone ilium were exposed systematically to controlled temperatures. Analysis of the resulting histological changes has allowed the formation of a clear four-stage classification of the alterations observed. This classification should prove useful in assessing bone changes in relation to temperature of exposure, particularly in cases where this temperature was previously not known. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.