Skeletal Anatomy Flashcards
How does the study of skeletal anatomy help a forensic scientist?
- To recognize the presence of human remains and differentiate them from animals remains
-To calculate the minimum number of individuals in a mass grave or mass fatality
-Human identification
-To identify age, sex and population ancestry
-To calculate probable stature, mass and handedness
-for clues into probable occupation/routine activity
-To look at perimortem injuries to reconstruct cause of death
-To reconstuct an individuals history of antemortem injury and healing
-To reconstruct an individual’s history of disease, health and lifestyle
Why do forensic scientists need to tell the difference between human and animal bones?
To determine whether their is a forensic case
What is MNI ?
Minimum number of individuals
What is the first question a forensic anthropologist asked ?
Are these animal or human remains ?
What does perimortem mean ?
Injury at death
What does antemortem mean?
Injury before death
Why would a forensic anthropologist want to know an individuals history of antemortem injury?
To match injury to medical records
Which bones would be the best to estimate sex in a human skeleton ?
Pelvic or cranium
Which bones could be used to estimate stature in the human skeleton ?
Femur
What is handedness and which bones would reveal this feature?
If an individual is right or left handed, this can be seen by musculature in the arm
How might we calculate MNI at a mass fatality ?
- Count all the bones
-Categorize
-Put them in pairs if they come in pairs
-Whichever bone is accounted for the most
What is the anatomical position of a cadaver or skeleton ?
- body erect
-feet slightly apart
-palms facing forward - thumbs pointing away from body
Superior
Towards the head
Inferior
Away from the head
Anterior
Towards the front of the body
Posterior
Towards the back of the body
Medial
Towards the midline of the body
Lateral
Away from the midline
proximal
Closer to the origin of the body part
Distal
Farther from the origin of the body part
Superficial
Toward the body surface
Deep
Away from the body surface
What are the 3 types of cartilage
-Hyaline, elastic and fibrocartilage
What type of cartilage is the most prominent ?
Hyaline
What is the role of hyaline cartilage ?
provides support, flexibility and resilience
Where is hyaline cartilage present ?
- Articular- covers the ends of long bones
-Costal- connects the ribs to the sternum
-respiratory- makes up larynx, reinforces air passages
-Nasal- supports the nose and makes its appearance
Where is elastic cartilage found ?
Found in the external ear and epiglottis
Where is fibrocartilage found ?
Found in menisci of the knee and intervertebral discs
What is the structure of fibrocartilage ?
Highly compressed with great tensile strength and contains collagen fibers
How many bones are in the human body ?
206 bones
How many bones are in the cranium ?
29
How many bones are in the axial skeleton ?
27 single bones
how many ribs are in a skeleton ?
24
How many paired bones are in the upper and lower body ?
10 paired bones in the upper body and 10 paired bones in the lower body
How many hand and wrist bones are there ?
54
How many foot and ankle bones are there ?
52
What is the axial skeleton ?
Bones of the skull, vertebral column and rib cage
What is the appendicular skeleton ?
Bones of the upper and lower limbs, shoulder and hip
How are bones classified?
By shape
How are long bones classified ?
They are longer than they are wide. (Humerus)
How are short bones classified?
-cube shaped bones of the wrist and ankle
-Bones that form within tendons (e.g. patella)
How are flat bones classified ?
they are thin, flattened and a bit curved. (E.g sternum and most skull bones )
How are irregular bones classified ?
they have complicated shapes (e.g vertebrae and hip bones)
What are the functions of bones ?
-support
-protection
-movement
-mineral storage
-blood cell formation
What is used as the primary way of estimating age ?
Teeth
Where is the hyoid bone ?
Not actually part of the skull but lies just inferior to the mandible in the anterior neck
What is the role of the hyoid bone
Attachment point for neck muscles that raise and lower larynx’s during swallowing and speech
What does damage to the hyoid mean ?
fracture of the hyoid is associated with manual strangulation as it is results from extreme pressure placed on the anterior of the neck
Why is hyoid damage associated with strangulation
The hyoids location makes it unlikely to break in most circumstances and it would be hard to break in any accidental cause of death
What are the different parts of the vertebrae ?
- cervical vertebrae - 7 bones of the neck
-thoracic vertebrae - 12 bones of the torso - lumbar vertebrae - 5 bones of the lower back
-sacrum - bone inferior to the lumbar vertebrae that articulates with the hip bones
What are intervertebral discs ?
Cushion-like pad composed of two parts
- nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus
What is the general structure of the vertebrae
- body/ centrum- disc-shaped, weight-bearing region
-vertebral arch- composed of pedicles and laminae that along with the centrum, enclose the vertebral foramen
-vertebral foramina- make up the vertebral canal through which the spinal cord passes
-spinous processes project posteriorly and transverse processes project laterally
-superior and inferior articular processes- protrude superiority and inferiorly from the pedicle-laminated junctions
-intervertebral foramina - lateral openings formed from notched areas on the superior and inferior borders of adjacent pedicles
What is the arrangement of the cervical vertebrae ?
Seven vertebrae (C1-C7) which are the smallest, lightest vertebrae
C3-C7 are distinguished with an oval body, short spinous processes and large, triangular vertebral foramina
What is the role of the atlas (C1)
support the entire weight of the skull
What is the structure of the atlas (C1)
-The atlas has no body and no spinous process.
-It consists of anterior and posterior arches, and two lateral masses
-The superior surfaces of lateral masses articulate with the occipital condyles
What is the role of the axis (C2)
Movement of the skull
What is the structure of the axis
-The axis has a body, spine and vertebral arches as do other cervical vertebrae
-unique to the axis is the dens or odontology process which projects superiority from the body and is cradled in the anterior arch of the atlas
What is the arrangement of the thoracic vertebrae ?
-There are twelve vertebrae (T1-T12)
-Major marking include 2 facets and 2 demifacets on the heart shaped body, the circular vertebral foramen, transverse processes and a long spinous process
-The location of the articulate facets prevents flexi on and extension but allows rotation of this area of the spine
What is the arrangement of the lumbar vertebrae ?
-The five lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5) are located in the small of the back and have an enhanced weight-bearing function
-They have short, thick pedicles and laminae, flat hatched-shaped spinous processes and a triangular shaped vertebral foramen
-orientation of articulate facets locks the lumbar vertebrae together to provide stability
What is the arrangement of the sacrum ?
-Consists of 5 fused vertebrae (S1-S5) which shape the posterior wall of the pelvis
- It articulates the L5 superiority and with the articular surfaces of the hip bones
-Major markings include the sacral promontory, transverse lines, algae, dorsal sacral foramina, sacral canal and sacral hiatus
What is the arrangement of the coccyx ?
Made up of four (3-5) fused vertebrae that articulate superiorly with the sacrum
What unique feature is possessed by all cervical vertebrae ?
It has transverse foramen
What 2 bones articulate with the superior and inferior surfaces of the sacrum ?
Lumbar 5 and Coccyx
What is the technical description of a true rib ?
It runs vertebrosternal
What are the three parts of the sternum ?
Manubrium, body and xiphoid
What are the identifiable features of the first couple of ribs ?
-horizontal
-flat
-C shaped profile