Abstract
When a human body is discovered, the primary goal in a forensic investigation is theidentification of the deceased and the definition of the cause and the manner of death (DiMaio, 2001). The identification is quite an easy procedure in relatively recent deaths, whereface and fingerprints are available. Quite often, though, individuals are found disfigured or ina highly decomposed state, without fingerprints. In mass disasters bones are usuallycommingled, charred and fragmented, thus identification is relayed in few components. Theexisting skeletal elements are partially exposed because of the remaining soft tissue; hencespecial techniques, like maceration, are needed in order to carry out the examination.Therefore, the necessity of developing new techniques for skeletal identification emerges.The first and most vital biological characteristic under consideration is sex, since itreduces the number of possible matches in the population by fifty percent (İşcan and Loth,1997; Loth and İşca ...
When a human body is discovered, the primary goal in a forensic investigation is theidentification of the deceased and the definition of the cause and the manner of death (DiMaio, 2001). The identification is quite an easy procedure in relatively recent deaths, whereface and fingerprints are available. Quite often, though, individuals are found disfigured or ina highly decomposed state, without fingerprints. In mass disasters bones are usuallycommingled, charred and fragmented, thus identification is relayed in few components. Theexisting skeletal elements are partially exposed because of the remaining soft tissue; hencespecial techniques, like maceration, are needed in order to carry out the examination.Therefore, the necessity of developing new techniques for skeletal identification emerges.The first and most vital biological characteristic under consideration is sex, since itreduces the number of possible matches in the population by fifty percent (İşcan and Loth,1997; Loth and İşcan, 2000). The overall reliability depends on the method and on thespecific population being examined. Of all demographic characteristics, sex differences haveprobably been studied the most. Almost every human bone has been analyzed in this regard(Stewart, 1979; Krogman and İşcan, 1986; İşcan, 2000). Scholars agree that sex diagnosis ofadult skeletons can be performed easily and with high accuracy (Krogman and İşcan, 1986).Theoretically, sex assessment is easy to accomplish in puberty, when males and femalesdiverge significantly so they can follow their distinct, genetically-determined forms andreproductive functions (Novotny et al., 1993). However, it becomes more complicated inadulthood when the sex discriminating traits become less marked.The reliability of sex determination depends on the parts of the skeleton that arerecovered as well as the conditions of preservation. Krogman and İşcan (1986) state that sexassessment in a collection of 750 skeletons was possible, with levels of reliability of 100%when the entire skeleton was present. However, in forensic investigations this is rarely thecase, since the bones are usually recovered in a fragmentary state due to the effect of extreme environmental conditions and activities of carnivores and/or other scavengers. Normally in developed countries, as in the U.S. or Canada, forensic anthropologists are the experts who assess sex from recovered remains, using a variety of methods based on the skeletal characteristics specific to the regional population. The situation is different in Greece, where the discipline of forensic anthropology is in nascent state and there are only a fewprofessionals, trained abroad, to be consulted when such cases emerge.It has long been acknowledged that both cranial and postcranial characteristics of theskeleton are population specific and thus many studies have been carried out worldwide todevelop population-specific methods. However, a lack of such investigations is noted in theBalkan area and in Greece in particular. Most pathologists use methods developed for otherpopulations, hence the probability of a wrong estimate is higher. In addition, the recoveredremains may be partially fleshed, charred or fragmented, thus the application of conventionaltechniques requires special techniques such as maceration to carry out the examination. Inforensic cases, however, the remains are not always permitted to be macerated, or if so, theprocess can be time-consuming and slow down the investigation. An alternative way to studybones is the application of image processing techniques such as radiography and computertomography.The application of imaging methods allows the visualization of the bonesindependently of the state of the remains (semi-fleshed, mummified or charred), thus allowingimmediate observation prior to autopsy. Moreover, radiographic equipment is routinely usedin forensic departments and recently conventional radiographic machines have been replacedby digital ones, which have no additional cost for materials (ex. film). Digital radiographicequipment can produce and store the radiographs immediately, thus allowing a rapidevaluation of the skeleton in forensic cases. The hypothesis addressed here is the potential useof radiographs of the skeleton for identification of sex. Radiological identification was firstintroduced in 1926 by Culbert and Law and since then, it has been extensively used indiagnosing skeletal pathology and trauma as well as in positive identification (Krogman andSassouni, 1957; Krogman and İşcan, 1986; Kahana and Hiss, 1997; Kahana et al., 1997;Kahana and Hiss, 1999). Nevertheless, its use in skeletal identification it has been, untilrecently, limited to classical radiographic methods (Riepert et al., 1996; Sağir, 2006; Petroveckiet al., 2007). Lately though, digital radiographs have been used in sex assessment of the femurwith rather satisfying results (Harma and Karakas, 2007).The recovery of fragmentary skeletal remains, in forensic investigations, requires easyand rapid techniques for biological profiling and reconstruction of scene history. The use ofradiographs instead of the actual bones allows the identification of semi-decomposed bodieswithout the need for special preparation (ex. maceration), thus facilitating the whole forensicinvestigation. The current study aspires to accomplish a threefold purpose: to develop a sexdetermination technique using digital radiographs of long bones, to provide osteometric dataon a contemporary population from Crete, Greece, and to introduce the discipline of forensicanthropology into modern multidisciplinary medico-legal investigation.
show more
