![]() It must be stressed that forensic examination of dead bodies is typically the duty of forensic pathologists/medical examiners, forensic anthropologists can, however, be involved in certain settings and in addition to assisting with biological profiling, trauma analysis has now become a regular task for them in various countries. 2 Passalacqua and Fenton 3 give a detailed description of the history of BFT, highlighting that it was around the 1980s when trauma analysis started to be considered as part of the forensic anthropologist’s duties. 1 This work will focus on the analysis of cranial blunt force trauma (BFT), excluding ballistic trauma, based on existing and new knowledge and will discuss suggestions for best practice in forensic BFT analysis.īFT trauma, as described in the draft guidelines on trauma analysis generated by the Scientific Working Group for Forensic Anthropology (SWGANTH) in 2011, “is produced by low velocity impact from a blunt object or the low velocity impact of a body with a blunt surface”. Cranial vault injuries are categorized as depression, penetration, crushing, slashes, cuts, and slices. A different classification system is associated with the nature of the injuries (blunt force, sharp force, and ballistic trauma). Skeletal injuries can be divided into cranial and postcranial categories, according to their location. Part of the duties of a forensic anthropologist is the examination and description of skeletal trauma and its possible association with the cause of death. Keywords: cranial trauma, blunt force trauma, forensic anthropology, fracture, cranial injuriesįorensic anthropology is a complementary discipline to forensic pathology for the examination of skeletal remains. It is thus imperative to work toward developing repeatable and scientifically acceptable methods with known error rates, in order to meet the increasing demands of the judicial system on the admissibility of evidence and expert witness testimony. ![]() Despite the evidenced progress made in the past decades, trauma analysis in medicolegal settings remains a very challenging task, especially in the absence of soft tissue. Current developments on theory and practice are also discussed. This article aims to review the existing knowledge on the mechanism of cranial blunt force injuries and the associated fracture patterns in order to facilitate the interpretation of such injuries in skeletonized or heavily decomposed bodies where soft tissue is no longer available. Blunt force injuries located in the cranium are often associated with the cause of death which makes their examination of vital importance in the medicolegal investigation of death. 1Department of Forensic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece 2Edinburgh Unit of Forensic Anthropology, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKĪbstract: Blunt force trauma is one of the most common injuries encountered by the forensic pathologist in a variety of scenarios such as transportation fatalities, jumping or falling from heights, blast injuries, and being struck by firm objects. ![]()
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