Forensic Fractography of Bone

Do bone elasticity and postmortem interval affect forensic fractographic analyses?

“…fracture surface analyses. Therefore, Christensen et al's [7] recommendation not to analyze forensic fractographic features under high magnification should be heeded.…”

“…The finding that trauma interpretation using fractography is reliable even as bone begins to lose elasticity is not surprising given that fractographic features have been described in ductile materials like metals and plastics, and in brittle materials like ceramics and glass [4,46]. In fact, many fractography principles were developed from studying fractures in glass because of its structural simplicity and lack of directional properties [7,47]. However, features indicating fracture initiation and propagation are present in more complex viscoelastic materials such as bone and resemble those identified in more simple materials like glass and ceramics [6,7].…”

“…In fact, many fractography principles were developed from studying fractures in glass because of its structural simplicity and lack of directional properties [7,47]. However, features indicating fracture initiation and propagation are present in more complex viscoelastic materials such as bone and resemble those identified in more simple materials like glass and ceramics [6,7]. Thus, as bone transitions from a more ductile to a more brittle material during the postmortem interval, similar fractographic features are preserved, much like macroscopic fracture characteristics [6,7,[46][47][48][49].…”

Analyzing the outcomes of skeletal trauma within a forensic population: Potential issues and implications in inferential modeling of blunt force trauma

“…It should be noted that the loading conditions in the research undertaken by Beardsley et al [36,37], and Dempsey et al [38] do not approximate the conditions found in forensic contexts. Fractures observed in "real-world" situations are more complex than fractures that are induced experimentally [19]. As cases in this study from VIFM necessarily involved loading beyond fracture point, it is the cumulative group percentage averages for both impact classes that are ultimately being assessed.…”

“…As forensic anthropologists often analyze remains after they have been removed from the death scene [17], analysis of the skeletal material is often supplemented by a biomechanics analysis [18] which provides a framework to assess trauma and attempt to determine impact direction, impact mechanism, and cause. Although this framework is of benefit, there are limitations because fractures that are examined in forensic events are generally vastly more complex than fracture states that are induced experimentally [19]. Trauma outcomes do not follow neat discrete units, but are rather continuously variable, and therefore, quantifying variations corresponding to a particular mechanism (or force) is a challenge for research and practice.…”