Finding MR X Flashcards
How can age be determined from x-rays of the long bones?
Measuring bone density (decreases with age)
What are the main ways we can determine the age of a skeleton?
Looking at the:
1) Auricular surface of the ileum
2) The pubic symphyses
As age - go from being highly organised to disorganised and pitted
How can we identify bones from pathological conditions?
Examples?
Diseases can leave a mark on the skeleton
Examples:
- Arthritis (bone-on-bone contact) –> wears the bones of the joint smooth
- Bunions –> fuse joint in severe cases
- Healed broken bones
- Bone remodelling
How can habitual behaviours be seen from the skeleton?
Examples?
UNUSUAL wear and tare in particular parts of the skeleton
Examples:
- Related to occupation, hobbies etc
- Worn down molars/dissolved tooth enamel —> chew something regularly
- Worn down joints
How can a European skull be identified?
- LONG, NARROW faces
- Circular eye sockets with squared margins
- Sharply angled nasal bones (pronounced nasal bridge)
- NARROW nasal aperture
- Teeth are small and set closely together
What is the nasal aperture?
The opening in the human skull
How can an Asian skull be identified?
- WIDER and SHORTED faces
- Prominent cheekbones
- Most circular orbits
- Heart shaped nasal aperture
- Nasal bridge less pronounced (between European and African)
- Shovel shaped upper incisors
How can shovel shaped incisors of the asian skull be seen?
Looking at the underneath or back of the incisors (have little triangle shaped indents in them)
How can an African skull be identified?
- Wider nasal aperture
- More rectangular shaped orbits
- Prominent mouth region when viewed in profile
- Very flat nasal bridge
- Jaw protrudes from the rest of the face
- Teeth are large with larger spacing between them
How can the translucency of the tooth root help to identify age?
As age –> lose density in the tooth
Take thin sections of the root and measure the amount of light that passes through them, increase translucency with age
Why is facial reconstruction used?
Depiction of the individual to see how they may have looked like when they were alive –> can put this out to the public
How is facial reconstruction made?
- From clues from the skull: age, ethnicity and gender
- Using the muscle groups of the face
- Using the location and tissue depth of each of the muscles of the face
Describe the process of facial reconstruction
.
What factors may impact a facial reconstruction?
1) Facial ageing may be accelerated by:
- Cigarette smoking
- Sun damage
- Weight loss
2) Cosmetic surgery
3) Injuries
4) Disease
5) Accidents
After applying the facial muscles onto the skull for facial reconstruction, what is the final step?
- Application of facial fat
- Application of a uniform flat layer of clay (to form the skin)
- Any prior information (eg. gender and ethnicity) influence the remaining features of the face (eg. ears and hair)
