BROKEN BONES: Anthropological Analysis of Blunt Force Trauma (2nd Ed.)The editors, along with 15 outstanding contributors, comprehensively explore and provide an overview of the principles behind the interpretation of skeletal blunt force trauma. This expanded second edition provides a discussion on how to train for a career in forensic anthropology and offers guidance on how to complete a thorough trauma analysis. It also provides the labels given to different kinds of fractures and the biomechanical forces required to cause bone to fail and fracture. The text provides a theoretical framework for both evaluating published trauma studies and designing new ones. Experimental trauma research is an area ripe for research, and criteria to consider in choosing which non-human species to use in an actualistic study are offered. Common circumstances in which blunt force trauma is encountered are described. Information is provided on a variety of causes of death due to blunt force trauma. These causes range from accidental deaths to homicides due to blunt force from motor vehicle accidents, falls, strangulation, child and elder abuse, among others. Epidemiological information on whom is most likely affected by these various kinds of blunt force trauma is drawn from both the clinical and forensic literature. The most fundamental elements of the text are offered in four chapters where, bone by bone, fracture by fracture, the authors describe what to call each kind of fracture, what is known about how much force is required to break the bone that way, and fracture specific epidemiological information. This particular section of the text provides an invaluable reference source for forensic anthropologists and other osteologists to consult when looking at and trying to classify a bone fracture. Case studies are included to bring the book full circle back to considering the micro and macro bone changes that are seen when bone fails and fractures. The case studies are illustrative both of the concepts described through the book and of the high quality analyses forensic anthropologists contribute to medicolegal investigations of death every day. The text is further enhanced by 150 illustrations, some in color. This completely updated and expanded new volume is an essential reference for the forensic anthropology professional. |
From inside the book
Results 6-10 of 89
... damage prior to death and is characterized by clearly recognizable signs of healing. These signs include the initiation of callus formation through woven bone adjacent to the fracture, erosion of bone at the line where the periosteum ...
... damage in one area may have been simultaneous with a blow to another area of the body. For example, a massive fracture in the upper arm may also be associated with underlying rib fractures. It is critical that observable trauma be ...
... damage inflicted through a number of different forces in which the area of impact is relatively large. While there is no specific size at which one can separate sharp from blunt force, the latter is usually thought to include injuries ...
... damage being more localized. Further, Carter et al. (1976), in a comparison of secondary bone remodeling in bovids, found that the presence of Haversian systems reduces fatigue life by decreasing bone density and creating a generally ...
... damage. Among the types of injury found are those that affect the skeleton. The focus of this work is on events that result in acute damage rather than long-term acclimation. Rate of Loading The energy-absorbing capacity of bone differs ...
Contents
Section III B | 327 |
Section III C | 336 |
Section III D | 350 |
Section III E | 362 |
Section III F | 369 |
Section III G | 379 |
Section III H | 391 |
Section III I | 399 |