Identifying the dead (like Mohammad's trims) IA % +

Question 1

Determining sex

Answer 1

• examination for prostate gland
• testes (male) or uterus/ovaries (female)
• skeletonisation - pelvis and skull most useful

Question 2

Determining age

Answer 2

• Fetus and neonate: bone development assessment using ossification centres - x-rays are very useful
• Childhood and adolescence: assessment of epiphyses
• Adult: very difficult to do with accuracy
• Ageing by examining the teeth: most valuable indicator from infancy to adulthood

Question 3

Personal identification

Answer 3

• Fingerprints: those with a criminal record or by comparison with prints on personal possessions
• Dental records: more prevalent than fingerprints, but dependent on the quality of dental records available; durable and fire resistant - dentures also useful
• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) profiling: depends on availability of controls, e.g. toothbrush, razor, hairbrush, material removed at surgery, Guthrie card

Question 4

Determination of stature

Answer 4

• Difficult to do with precision, even with an intact body
• People may not have had their height measured accurately in life anyway

•Individual bones of the lower limb are most useful for calculation of height