A Wormian Bone, Mimicking an Entry Gunshot Wound of the Skull, in an Anthropological Specimen

Wormian bones (WB) are irregular small cranial ossicles found along suture lines and fontanels. In Brazil, gunshot wounds to the skull are quite common in young individuals. Nevertheless, as far as we know, this is the first report of a WB giving an erroneous aspect of gunshot entrance due to its displacement position. The present manuscript describes the case of a Brazilian young man who died due to ballistic trauma, where a gaping bony defect on the right side of the skull was thought to be the exit wound of an injury related to the destruction found on the left side, highly suggestive of firearm injury. Thus, this case study has brought to light similarities between a traumatic lesion and an orifice of a WB, with emphasis on differential diagnosis during routine anthropological examinations

Palatal rugoscopy as a method of human identification

Objetivo: testar a aplicabilidade da fórmula na rugoscopia palatina. Metodologia: três avaliadores examinaram 30 modelos em gesso do arco superior, obtidos de estudantes de Odontologia da UFPB. As rugosidades foram classificadas em simples e compostas e em reta, curva, angular, circular, sinuosa e ponto. Resultados: o exame das rugas simples e compostas, intra avaliador, demonstrou maior percentual de coincidência para as rugas compostas (53,3 a 56,7%), assim como nos exames inter avaliadores, com acertos entre 43,3% e 55,0%, confrontando com os 5,0% e 23,3% obtidos nas rugas simples. Na análise dos tipos fundamentais observa-se que as rugas circulares apresentaram maior percentual de coincidências (95,0% a 96,7%), seguida das angulares (61,7% a 66,7%). A ruga reta demonstrou menor percentual de coincidências (11,7% a 45,0%). As coincidências inter avaliadores foi maior nas rugas circulares (93,3% a 96,7%) e menor nas rugas retas, com percentual entre 16,7% e 15,0%. O maior percentual das rugas compostas demonstra a sua boa visualização. A alta concordância dos avaliadores quanto a rugas circulares ocorre em virtude da classificação de sua ausência, pois raramente se encontra esta ruga, diferente das retas, que se confundem com as sinuosas e vice-versa, frequentemente presentes no palato. Nota-se que a rugosidade palatina como método possui uma grande quantidade de classificações, porém, com praticabilidade baixa, de difícil arquivamento e ausência de padrão universal. Conclusão: a classificação das rugosidades palatinas, por meio da fórmula rugoscópica, não é aplicável devido à subjetividade do método. Palavras-chave: Antropologia Forense; Odontologia Legal; Arcada Dentária

Identification Of Sex Using Cranial Base Measurements.

It is well known that the skull provides elements for sex identification. Twenty-two bones form the cephalic cranium and they are divided into neurocranium and splancnocranium. This research aimed to study different characteristics between skulls from both sexes by evaluating the following measurements: mastoid notch to incisive foramen (right and left side); mastoid notch to mastoid notch; and incisive foramen to basion. In order to do so, two hundred skulls were selected (100 males and 100 females), with information about the age of the subjects (20-55 years old), sex and ethnic group known according to records at the Imaculada Conceicao Cemetery, located in the city of Campinas, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Measurements were taken using a digital calliper. The results were subjected to a statistical analysis (logistic regression and discriminate function) and showed dimorphic characteristics within the measurements. A formula with 79.9% accuracy was established for sex identification (logito = 25.2772 - 0.1601 x incisive foramen to basion - 0.0934 x mastoid notch - mastoid notch). The authors have concluded that the method is efficient and suitable for anthropology and forensic purposes. The research also showed that the analysis may be carried out using a practical computer program.257-1

Retrospective analysis of forensic anthropology cases investigated by the legal medicine institute of Rio de Janeiro State, Brasil

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Craniofacial injuries by firearms projectiles: An analysis of 868 deaths in the five regions of Brazil

Firearms injuries have a legal and medico-legal importance, and are especially lethal when they reach the craniofacial regions of the victim. The present study aims to identify the characteristics of craniofacial lesions resulting from firearm projectiles, to register the most affected craniofacial regions by this type of injury and to verify the demographic profile of the victims. A retrospective study was carried out on the autopsy records produced in the first semester of 2015, in five Institutes of Legal Medicine in Porto Velho, situated in the cities of João Pessoa, Vitória, Porto Alegre and Brasília. Data extracted included sex, skin color and age of the victim, craniofacial region reached, shooting distance, shape and size of the injuries and manner of death (homicide, suicide or accident). Based on the 868 reports analyzed, it was possible to observe 1700 entrance lesions of firearm projectiles in craniofacial regions. Among cases of known manner of death, homicides were the most frequent (97.0%). It was observed a higher frequency of male victims (93.3%), mixed race (62.0%), between the ages of 12 and 29 years (59.4%). In all cases considered as suicide or accident there was only one entrance wound, but in 82.8% of the homicides there were multiple gunshot wounds. The craniofacial most affected regions were temporal (25.2%) and occipital (19.8%). The most common sites of projectiles exit were the temporal (25.3%) and parietal (16.1%). All cases of suicide were related to contact shot (69.2%) or close-range shot (30.8%), and among the homicides the distant range shots were more frequent (54.0%). The shape of entrance wounds was mostly circular (56.8%) and oval (31.3%), and among the exit injuries, the lesions were irregular (43.3%) and starry (24.1%). The entrance wounds showed smaller sizes than the exit lesions (p < 0.0001). The data obtained are useful for guiding research that takes into account craniofacial trauma caused by firearm projectiles, makes it possible to compare this data with those of other countries and can base investigative conclusions based on the analyzes discussed in the present work69COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESsem informaçã

Foramen tympanicum prevalence in the population of southeastern of Brazil: a morphological study in computed tomography scans

Background: The foramen tympanicum is located on the anteroinferior region of the external acoustic meatus and posteromedial to the temporomandibular joint in children between the first and the fifth year of life. It is considered an anatomical variation when it persists in adults. The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence as well as to characterize the foramen tympanicum in CT scans of the population from southeastern Brazil. Materials and methods: A total of 78 CT scans of dry human skulls were used, which were selected randomly regarding the ages, ranged from 15 to 100 years, and composed a total of 20 female and 58 males. The foramen tympanicum was identified in the images of the axial plane and confirmed in the images of the coronal and sagittal planes. The largest diameter (in mm) was obtained. The descriptive statistics (in %), Fisher's test and chi-square test (χ2) were performed to compare the prevalence of foramen tympanicum between sexes and sides. The probability value ≤ 0.05 was defined as a level of significance. Descriptive statistics were performed to verify the mean diameter of the foramen on the right and left sides of the skulls. Results: The prevalence of foramen tympanicum was higher in females (P = 0.0070), bilaterally, as the absolute values of females were lower in relation to males. Fisher's exact test showed that the prevalence of foramen tympanicum was significantly higher in females (45%) than in males (15.52%). On the right side, the mean axial diameter was 2.23 mm (range 0.93–3.75 mm). On the left side, the mean axial diameter was 2.22 mm (range 0.9–3.61 mm). Conclusions: The knowledge of anatomical variations is extremally valuable for an accurate diagnosis, treatment plan and prognosis and a thorough preoperative assessment