expert witness Flashcards
what date, what lab, and what bench?
10th april, lab 03009, bench 1
how many packages, what were they, and who packaged them?
2, KG001, KG002, KEITH GRANT
what did you label them and why?
KG001 - a
KG012 - b, c, d, and e
because they were handed to me prepackaged by KG, 1 bag with 1 bone in it, 1 bag with 4 bones in it, so I labelled them a-e to make identification and continuity easier
bone a: preliminary examinations
morphologically smooth, small, cuboid shaped bone
bone a: length in mm
27 mm
bone a: what bone is it, and why?
proximal phalange, probably of the thumb as it is stout and robust, but not long enough to be a big toe
bone a: sex?
unclear as to which sex at this time
bone b: preliminary examinations
identified to be animal bone, texture was very smooth and was very light weight
bone b: length in mm
121 mm
bone b: what bone is it, and why?
femur because:
- femoral head and greater trochanter located on the proximal side
- intercondylar fossa
not a humerus because:
- the ridge would be less deep if it were a radial fossa
- the lack of the supratrochlear foramen
bone b: why is it animal and not human?
similar characteristics as a human femur, but much smaller, much lighter, and not dimpled/textured
bone b: what animal?
most likely cat, but not confirmed, would need to cut into it to get a more definitive answer. could possibly be fox as the meausrement is more in range with cat but within the lower range of fox.
bone c: preliminary examination
human bone, fragmented, large, long bone, heavy, smooth shaft, dimpled head
bone c: what bone is it and why?
femur becuase:
- length
- weight
- distal end characteristics (prominent intercondylar fossa)
bone c: sex?
sex identification is unclear at this point due to the fragmented nature of the bone
bone d: preliminary examination
medium, irregular shaped bone, dimpled and textured, fairly heavy
bone d: length, diameter, height in mm
L 78 mm
D 29 mm
H 44 mm
bone d: what bone is it, and why?
calcaneus because:
- 3 articular surfaces (posterior, middle, anterior talar articular surfaces)
- calcaneal sulcus
- sustenculum tali
(last two support achilles tendon and the plantar fascia)
bone d: sex?
tarsal bones are not usually used to identify sex, so it is unclear.
bone e: preliminary examination
iregular shaped bone, light weight
bone e: length in mm
59 mm
bone e: what bone is it, and why?
talus because:
- trochlea of the talus is identifieable because it is broader on the anterior plane than the posterior (hinge movement)
- lateral posterior process
bone e: sex?
tarsal bones are not usually used to identify sex, so it is unclear.
However, the lateral posterior process is AKA the Stieda process is considered an anatomical variant identified in some men, but no women. Still, this is necassarily not indicative of sex.
Final remarks RE sex
Due to either the size/importance, whether the bone was complete or not, and the location and type of bone, sex identification for the individual bones was not possible. However looking at the bones as a whole, they are all on the larger side of the average ranges respecitively, possibly indicating MALE, but again, this is not conclusive.
