130 research outputs found
Aging the death : the importance of having better methods for age at death estimation of old individuals
Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Rib fractures in the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection
There is a high prevalence of rib fractures in human remains from archeological contexts, but these are seldom the focus in paleopathological studies pertaining skeletal trauma. This study aims to document rib fracture patterns in the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra. Specific aims of this study included the estimation of rib fracture prevalence in 252 individuals, from both sexes (females: 128; males: 124), with age-at-death varying from 20 to 96 years; and the analysis of the relationship between rib fractures and age-at-death, biological sex, and bone mineral density measured at the proximal femur. The crude prevalence of rib fractures is 6.3% (16 cases in a total of 252 individuals observed); while the true prevalence rate is 0.7% (38 fractured ribs in relation to 5656 ribs studied). Males have been more affected than females (males: 10.5%, 13/124; females: 2.3%, 3/128). Individuals with one or more rib fractures were significantly older (mean=66.19 years old; standard deviation [SD]=14.08) than those who have not experienced any rib fracture (mean=50.41 years old; SD=19.45). Bone mineral density was also associated with the presence of rib fractures but only in females. These results expand the scientific awareness about the prevalence of rib fractures in human skeletal collections.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Reuse of industrial spaces in the South bank of river Tagus’ estuary
Trabalho apresentado em Conference Reusing the Industrial Past, 10-15 agosto 2015, Tampere, FinlandN/
Compassion between humans since when? What the fossils tell us
This paper explores the concept of compassion in an evolutionary framework, and presents pathological cases identified in fossil records. The paleopathological examples presented illustrate how the negative impact of disease and injury on individuals’ lives is minimized through empathy, cooperation and care towards conspecifics.Esta comunicação explora o conceito de compaixĂŁo, num contexto de estudo da evolução humana, atravĂ©s da apresentação de casos patolĂłgicos identificados no registo fĂłssil. Os exemplos paleopatolĂłgicos descritos mostram como o impacto negativo na vida dos indivĂduos Ă© minorado pela empatia, cooperação e cuidado para com os indivĂduos doentes do grupo
Better a Broader Diagnosis Than a Misdiagnosis: The Study of a Neoplastic Condition in a Male Individual who Died in Early 20th Century (Coimbra, Portugal)
post mortem interval estimation of human skeletal remains
The estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI), particularly the late time since death, is a crucial issue when dealing with human remains. Its establishment is an important task for forensic scientists since it has important legal implications such as identifying a victim or prosecuting an offender. However, dating death is a very complex and challenging task due to the amount of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, that may influence the rate and nature of body decomposition. Many methods have been used to estimate PMI, from classical decomposition methods to entomological and botanical methods or more recently physics and biochemical methods.
This paper reviews current forensic dating methods, focusing especially on forensic anthropological techniques. Nevertheless, the existing literature is insufficient, denoting a lack of effective methods to achieve an accurate and reliable PMI estimation and further investigation is required. A holistic approach, where every element must be considered, is the key to achieving a reliable estimation of PMI. Interdisciplinarity is thus mandatory, allied with the capacity of forensic anthropologists to denoteinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The reality of the dead in Brazil: perspectives on identification in forensic anthropology (editorial)
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Estimation of the pre-burning condition of human remains in forensic contexts
The determination of the original condition of human remains prior to burning is critical since it may facilitate the reconstruction of circumstances surrounding death in forensic cases. Although the use of heat-induced bone changes is not a completely reliable proxy for determining pre-burning conditions, it is not completely devoid of potential, as we can observe a clear difference in the occurrence of such features between the fleshed and dry bones. In order to quantify this difference and determine its true value for forensic research, the frequencies of heat-induced warping and thumbnail fractures were documented on modern cremations of cadavers from recently deceased individuals and from the cremations of skeletons previously inhumed. The effect of age, sex, time span from death to cremation, duration and temperature of combustion on those frequencies was statistically investigated. Results demonstrated that the heat-induced features were significantly more frequent in the sample of cadavers. In addition, warping was determined to be the most useful indicator of the pre-burning condition of human remains. Temperature of combustion was the only variable having a significant effect on the frequency of both features, suggesting that fluctuation of temperature, along with collagen preservation and recrystallization of the inorganic phase, is paramount for their occurrence. Both warping and thumbnail fractures may eventually be used for the estimation of the pre-burning condition of human remains in lack of other indicators, but their reliability is far from absolute. Ideally, such inference must be supported by other data such as skeletal representation, objects or defleshing marks on the bones
Three cases of feet and hand amputation from Medieval Estremoz, Portugal
Peri-mortem limb amputations are rarely reported in the paleopathological literature. The cases reported here concern severing of both hands and feet observed in three adult male skeletons, exhumed from the medieval Portuguese necropolis of Rossio do Marquês de Pombal, Estremoz, Portugal. The fact that they were found in the same site, in graves placed side by side, that all are young males, and that the three skeletons show similar perimortem injuries, make this a unique case meriting detailed analysis. Considering the lesions’ location and pattern, as well as historical data, we hypothesize that this is a case of amputation as a consequence of judicial punishment. Estremoz was an important city in sustaining the Royal power at a regional scale during the medieval period
The Identification Potential of Atherosclerotic Calcifications in the Context of Forensic Anthropology
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease that, in its more developed stages, can lead to the calcification of fatty plaques on the walls of arteries, resulting in the appearance of new bone elements. It is a condition that has been studied and documented little in the context of paleopathology, especially in the framework of forensic anthropology. This article analyzed the skeletal remains of 71 individuals (35 females and 36 males) from the LuĂs Lopes Identified Collection of the National Museum of Natural History and Science in Lisbon, 31 of whom had an autopsy report. An attempt was made to ascertain whether these bone elements resulting from atherosclerotic calcification would resist cadaveric decomposition and whether they would be recoverable several years after burial, and a survey was carried out of their distribution according to sex and age, as well as their association with other pathologies, such as osteoporosis and cardiac and renal pathologies. An imaging analysis of an atherosclerotic plaque was also carried out to complement the macroscopic analysis and present other methods of identifying plaques. It was concluded that each atherosclerotic calcification has a unique profile, which can be useful for identification, especially in cases where the individual shows a severe condition. In terms of identification potential, the analysis of calcified atherosclerotic plaques can be useful, as they can corroborate or reject an identification. However, it always requires the existence of ante-mortem imaging exams and must always be used in addition to other identification methods. Regardless of the identification, these plaques are bone elements resulting from a pathology and should, therefore, be known and recognized by the scientific community.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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