Testing various imaging methods in assessment of hyoid bonefractures
2016
In the field of forensic anthropology, the hyoid bone provides
important evidence on victim’s biological profile (e.g., sex or
age at death) and on potential foul play, because in addition
to accidental (e.g., traffic accidents, medical-rescue
interventions), and self-inflicted traumas (e.g., hanging),
hyoid fractures have been vastly documented in assaulted
injuries (e.g., manual or ligature strangulations). Still, an
unbiased diagnosis of perimortem damage can be problematic as
hyoid fractures frequently occur postmortem when a laryngeal
region is being harvested and examined at autopsy. The aims of
the present study was to explore characteristics of peri- and
post-mortem fractures in hyoid bones by a variety of available
examination techniques. The studied material consisted of
selected fractured hyoid bones with documented demographic
profiles and mechanisms of damage. Characteristics of the
observed fractures (e.g., hyoid shape, fracture angle and
surface characteristics of the fracture line) were assessed on
a macroscopic level using traditional and advanced approaches
(macro-photography, 3D laser scanning). Furthemore, micro-CT,
RTG and SEM imaging methods were employed to examine damaged
regions on a microscopic level. Special attention was given to
the distinctions between peri- and post-mortem fractures by
observing the cortical bone microstructure (as viewed on raw CT
images, and generated 3D digital models) as the bone tissue
properties are believed to reflect the mechanism of damage
substantially. The acquired results provide an important
insight into potentials and limitations of currently available
imaging techniques employable in the course of assessing hyoid
bone fractures in the framework of physical and forensic
anthropology.
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