Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Forensic Sci Int 2019 Mar 24;299:80-88. Epub 2019 Mar 24.

Forensic Anthropology Center, Texas State University, 601 University Dr, San Marcos, TX, 78666, United States. Electronic address:

Dental and maxillofacial trauma analysis in the forensic context, includes assessment of both living and deceased persons. It is required in all cases where human abuse is suspected and where signs of skeletal trauma are detected in human remains. Skeletal trauma refers to the damage inflicted to bone, teeth and other hard tissues. Read More

Int J Legal Med 2019 Feb 21. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Zurich Institute of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine and Imaging, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190/52, CH-8057, Zurich, Switzerland.

Blows with axes, machetes or blunt objects such as baseball bats, truncheons, etc. are often parried, resulting in typical parry injuries, or so-called nightstick fractures to the ulna. In this study, we sought to assess the impact energy required to break the ulna in such parry incidents in an experimental setting using semisynthetic and fully synthetic models. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2019 Mar 21;296:53-56. Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.

Killings of human beings involving animals have rarely been described in the forensic literature. In the present case, the decapitated corpse of a woman as well as the decapitated, castrated and partially disemboweled corpse of a dog were found together. Both bodies also exhibited analogous, distributed massive sharp-force traumas. Read More

Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2019 Jan 22;61:58-63. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing System Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710054, Shaanxi, China; Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; Tribology Research Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China.

Background: Meniscectomy is likely to result in an increase of joint loading on articular cartilage and initiates cartilage damages. However, the induced alterations in knee contact mechanics and secondary kinematics after the meniscal removal are still unclear during a walking gait. In this study, the role of menisci on the knee contact mechanics and secondary kinematics were investigated during a walking simulation. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2018 Dec 28;293:e1-e4. Epub 2018 Oct 28.

Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Slovak Medical University and Cytopathos Ltd., Limbova 12, 833 03 Bratislava, Slovakia. Electronic address:

A case of long-term continual self-inflicted penetrating craniocerebral injury to a 59-year-old man with a fatal outcome is reported. The man suffered from paranoid psychosis and alcohol dependence. Over five months, he continually scalped the skin and subcutaneous tissue of his head with a knife until he perforated the skull and dura mater and injured his brain. Read More

Int J Legal Med 2019 Mar 18;133(2):521-528. Epub 2018 Oct 18.

Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France.

Identifying tool mark and involved weapon in sharp force trauma is essential to understanding the circumstances of death. But accuracy and reliability of such expert testimony remains unknown, and validation studies are rare in forensic literature. That is why, we conducted an experiment in order to determine error rates and predictive values on identifying the right implement through different types of knife-inflicted trauma. Read More

Int J Paleopathol 2019 Mar 20;24:7-18. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

Memorial University of Newfoundland, Department of Archaeology, Queen's College, 210 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's NL A1B 3R6, Canada; McMaster University, Department of Anthropology, Chester New Hall, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada. Electronic address:

Investigating injury recidivism and individuals with multiple injuries is an area of growing interest in bioarchaeology. Differentiating between whether an individual sustained multiple injuries, represented by antemortem healed fractures, in one incident or in multiple incidents over the life course, is a major challenge. This research analyzed the skeletal remains of 721 adults (402 males, 319 females) from five post-medieval cemeteries from London, UK, known to include working class individuals for evidence of skeletal trauma - fractures, myositis ossificans, subluxations/dislocations, blunt force trauma, and sharp force trauma. Read More

Anthropol Anz 2018 Dec;75(4):291-296

Section of Forensic Pathology, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

This study presents and discusses the differential diagnosis of a unique case of facial trauma. The adult male skull was excavated in 1948 from Uglemose (Owl Bog) outside of Birket, on the island of Lolland (Denmark). Carbon-14 samples from an adult tibia excavated with the skull dates to the end of the Danish Bronze Age and transition period into the pre-Roman Iron Age. Read More

Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2018 Dec;39(4):341-344

From the Department of Pathology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office, Detroit, MI.

Instruments that create stab wounds are required to possess tips of sufficient strength and rigidity to breach the integrity of the skin. Knives, the most common weapons used to create stab wounds, have cutting edges that cleave the skin, leaving unabraded margins. On rare occasions, blunt objects are driven with sufficient force to pierce the skin and become impaled within the body. Read More

J Forensic Leg Med 2018 Oct 17;59:4-7. Epub 2018 Jul 17.

Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Frome Rd, Adelaide, Australia; Forensic Science SA, 21 Divett Place, Adelaide, Australia. Electronic address:

A retrospective study was undertaken at Forensic Science South Australia of all homicides in individuals aged <18 years from January 1970 to December 2014. 166 cases were identified (M:F = 1.5:1). Read More

Med Leg J 2018 Jan 1:25817218775575. Epub 2018 Jan 1.

Department of Health Promotion, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.

The dismemberment of a corpse is comparatively rare in forensic medicine and usually performed with different types of sharp tools. The victim is always the victim of a homicide. Dismemberment usually occurs where the killing took place without prior planning by the perpetrator. Read More

Tohoku J Exp Med 2018 05;245(1):29-35

Department of Forensic Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Wound age estimation is an important research field in forensic pathology. The expression levels of cytokines in the incised skeletal muscle were analyzed using a mouse model to explore the applicability for wound aging. A 5-mm long incisional wound was made at the biceps femoris muscle, and the muscle and serum were sampled at 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after injury. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2018 Jul 1;288:189-200. Epub 2018 May 1.

Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud Private University, Vienna, Austria; Department of Paediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Electronic address:

Tool marks on bones induced by knife blades can be analysed morphometrically in order to enable an allocation of the suspected "inflicting weapon" to the particular morphology of the bone lesions. Until now, geometric morphometrics has not been used to analyse the morphology of knife lesions on fleshed bones in detail. By using twelve experimental knives and a drop weight tower, stab/cut injuries were inflicted on untreated pig ribs. Read More

J Pediatr Surg 2018 Jun 15;53(6):1252-1253. Epub 2018 Mar 15.

SRM Medical College, Chennai, India. Electronic address:

Patterned bruising of abdominal wall in blunt trauma is called London sign. It indicates that the impacting force is sharp and severe enough to cause visceral injury. Despite its practical significance this sign is seldom described in textbooks and there are no journal articles about it. Read More

J Biomech 2018 04 2;72:63-70. Epub 2018 Mar 2.

Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, United States.

Cracks in articular cartilage are a common sign of joint damage, but failure properties of cartilage are poorly understood, especially for damage initiation. Cartilage failure may be further complicated by rate-dependent and depth-dependent properties, including the compliant surface layer. Existing blunt impact methods do not resolve local cartilage inhomogeneities and traditional fracture mechanics tests induce crack blunting and may violate underlying assumptions of linear elasticity. Read More

Int J Legal Med 2018 Mar 4. Epub 2018 Mar 4.

Department of Forensic Pathology, Landspítali University Hospital Reykjavik, Reykjavík, Iceland.

Injuries resulting from blows with beer steins are a frequent occurrence during annual autumn fairs or at beer halls in South Germany and Austria. The majority of these cases are tried in court and thus being assessed by a forensic medicine expert. The article at hand gives a short overview on the injury potential of one-litre beer steins and explains the key variables to consider when analyzing beer stein injuries. Read More

J Am Vet Med Assoc 2018 Feb;252(4):433-439

OBJECTIVE To identify historical and necropsy findings suggestive of neglect or abuse of dogs and cats by retrospective analysis of necropsy reports from a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SAMPLE 119 necropsy reports of dogs and cats. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2018 Feb 30;283:156-172. Epub 2017 Dec 30.

WMG, International Manufacturing Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Toolmark analysis involves examining marks created on an object to identify the likely tool responsible for creating those marks (e.g., a knife). Read More

Int J Paleopathol 2017 12 2;19:66-79. Epub 2017 Nov 2.

Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK.

Battle-related mass burials are considered the most unequivocal evidence of past violence. However, most published studies involve only macroscopic analysis of skeletal remains, commonly arriving only at broad conclusions regarding trauma interpretation. The current study considers a possible avenue for achieving both greater detail and accuracy through digital microscopy. Read More

Anaesthesist 2017 Dec 15;66(12):924-935. Epub 2017 Nov 15.

Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Deutschland.

Introduction: More than half of all traumatic deaths happen in prehospital settings. Until now, there have been no long-term studies examining the actual additive treatment during trauma-associated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (tCPR), including pleural decompression, pericardiocentesis, tourniquets and external stabilization of the pelvis. The present cohort study evaluated forensic autopsy reports of trauma deaths occurring at the scene with respect to additive actions in preclinical tCPR as well as the potentially preventable nature of the individual death cases. Read More

J Forensic Sci 2018 Jul 30;63(4):1282-1283. Epub 2017 Oct 30.

School of Medicine, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

A 54-year-old woman was found deceased with incised wounds of both sides of her neck and both wrists. Postmortem CT scanning revealed air in the heart and in the dural veins in continuity with air in the right jugular vein. Death was due to incised wounds of the wrist and neck with blood loss and air embolism. Read More

J Forensic Sci 2018 Jul 23;63(4):1134-1137. Epub 2017 Oct 23.

Sookmyung Women's University, 100 Chungpa-ro,47 Gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, 140-742, Korea.

On the basis of information regarding 276 homicides committed in South Korea between 1987 and 2008, we compared offenders' and victims' characteristics, injury locations, weapon-related behavior, and offending behavior between homicides involving sharp and blunt instruments. The victims of sharp-force homicide were much younger relative to those of blunt-force homicide. In addition, homicides involving blunt instruments were more likely to be committed by offenders who lived with the victims. Read More

Int J Legal Med 2018 Jan 16;132(1):229-236. Epub 2017 Oct 16.

East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, LE2 7LX, UK.

The commonest way of killing in the UK is by a sharp instrument. Knight reported in 1975 that it is impossible to discern with any degree of certainty the degree of force used to create a stab wound. Despite this, expert witnesses continue to approximate the degree of force used for their reports and evidence in court. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2017 Nov 21;280:139-146. Epub 2017 Sep 21.

Regional Forensic Coordinator, International Committee of the Red Cross, 10 Bis Passage d'Enfer, 75014 Paris, France. Electronic address:

This is an exploratory study into the need for additional lines of forensic evidence in humanitarian cases using applied research. One hundred and twenty four, still unidentified terrorism inmates, were killed after surrendering to the Peruvian Army once it took control of the San Pedro-Lurigancho prison in Lima, Peru in 1986. Two questions are put forward: first, to what extent mechanism of injury (gunshot, blunt, sharp force) and bodily distribution of those injuries allow us to classify individuals into discrete sub-groups of people? The second question is to what respect can such a classification become an additional line of evidence assisting in generating hypotheses of identity regarding those individuals? The analysis of the 109 recovered bodies and their associated evidence show a sub group of four individuals differentiated from the rest based on the combination of injuries (gunshot and blunt force trauma), opposing trajectories and weapons. Read More

Singapore Med J 2018 02 12;59(2):94-97. Epub 2017 Oct 12.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.

Introduction: The cross Kirschner wire (K-wire) configuration in closed reduction and percutaneous pinning of paediatric supracondylar humeral fracture affords superior stability. However, medial pin placement presents a risk of iatrogenic ulnar nerve injury. This study describes, in step-by-step detail, another safe method of percutaneous medial pin insertion. Read More

J Forensic Sci 2018 May 23;63(3):842-848. Epub 2017 Aug 23.

Department of Emergency Medicine, The University of Southern California, 1333 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90033.

Previous research by the authors on an animal model showed that bloodstains can contain additional information about their somatic origin in the form of wound cells. Bloodstains produced by a gunshot wound to the head were distinguished from bloodstains produced by a gunshot wound to the chest by testing the stains for a brain microRNA marker. In this study, the effectiveness of the technique was examined on blood drops shed externally from a stab wound to the liver of rat carcasses. Read More

J Forensic Leg Med 2017 10 25;51:74-75. Epub 2017 Jul 25.

University of Brescia, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialities, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, Varese, Italy.

Gesundheitswesen 2018 Feb 28;80(2):176-182. Epub 2017 Jul 28.

Arbeitsmedizin, Gefahrstoffe und Gesundheitswissenschaften, Berufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege (BGW), Hamburg.

Objective: The "Technical rules for biological agents in healthcare and welfare facilities" (TRBA 250) came into force in March 2014 in Germany and deals with protective measures to prevent needlestick injuries (NSI). The present study covers the period of 6 months after TRBA 250 came into force. The study had 2 objectives: to investigate whether hospitals, doctors' surgeries and care facilities differ with respect to the causes of needlestick injuries (NSI) and to collect data on availability and implementation of safety-engineered devices (SED) in these healthcare settings workplaces. Read More

J Forensic Leg Med 2017 Jul 26;49:59-75. Epub 2017 May 26.

Laboratory of Morphology and Forensic Anthropology, Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address:

While assessing skeletal injuries in human skeletal remains, forensic anthropologists are frequently presented with fractured, fragmented, or otherwise modified skeletal remains. The examination of evidence and the mechanisms of skeletal injuries often require that separate osseous elements be permanently or temporarily reassembled or reconstructed. If not dealt with properly, such reconstructions may impede accurate interpretation of the evidence. Read More

J Radiol Case Rep 2017 Feb 28;11(2):23-27. Epub 2017 Feb 28.

Division of Urology, Cook County Health and Hospitals System, Chicago, IL, USA.

The classic presentation of penile fracture is a cracking or snap sound, with sharp pain, immediate detumescence, swelling, deformation and ecchymosis. A penile fracture involves rupture of the tunica albuginea of one or both corpora cavernosa. Concomitant urethral rupture is reported to occur in 10% to 20% of penile fracture cases. Read More

Int J Legal Med 2017 Sep 30;131(5):1313-1323. Epub 2017 May 30.

Institut Médico-Légal, 2 Place Mazas, 75012, Paris, France.

This paper describes a new approach to determine characteristics of the implement used to inflict trauma which involves the histological analysis of exogenous particles. Based on Locard's principle "every contact leaves a trace," we decided to assess whether histological examination of bone and soft tissue around a penetrating injury (sharp force trauma) could provide evidence of the offending implement. Case reports and experimental studies have demonstrated the potential of cut mark features in bone to identify the causative implement and potentially assist in identifying the perpetrator. Read More

Int J Paleopathol 2017 06 28;17:75-78. Epub 2017 Feb 28.

Department of Archaeology, Institute of History, University of Opole, Opole, Poland.

A variety of injuries have always been associated with violence, consequences of which people had to deal with. In this paper we present a complex of craniofacial and dental injuries resulted from sharp force trauma. The basis of our study was historical skeletal material excavated from archeological site in Byczyna (11th-17th century), Poland. Read More

J Forensic Sci 2017 Nov 2;62(6):1647-1654. Epub 2017 May 2.

International Shark Attack File, Florida Program for Shark Research, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611.

This research examines a series of six Florida forensic anthropology cases that exhibit taphonomic evidence of marine deposition and shark-feeding activities. In each case, we analyzed patterns of trauma/damage on the skeletal remains (e.g. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2017 Jun 29;275:260-271. Epub 2017 Mar 29.

Musculoskeletal & Medicolegal Research Group, Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, SN6 8LA, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Burning of human remains is one method used by perpetrators to conceal fatal trauma and expert opinions regarding the degree of skeletal evidence concealment are often disparate. This experiment aimed to reduce this incongruence in forensic anthropological interpretation of burned human remains and implicitly contribute to the development of research methodologies sufficiently robust to withstand forensic scrutiny in the courtroom. We have tested the influence of thermal alteration on pre-existing sharp and blunt trauma on twenty juvenile sheep radii in the laboratory using an automated impact testing system and an electric furnace. Read More

Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2017 Jun;38(2):111-114

From the School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom.

The authors of the present work evaluate the trauma observed on the skeletal remains of an individual from medieval Gloucester and reconstruct the events that led to his death. The almost complete skeleton was recovered from the cemetery of St Owen and dates to the late medieval period. Several methods were used to determine the sex and age of the individual. Read More

S Afr J Surg 2016 Jun;54(2):21-26

Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria.

Background: South Africa's crude death rate was recorded as the highest in the world in 2014. In 2013, 47 murders occurred daily nationwide, and it was confirmed that sharp force fatalities were frequent events. The aim of our study was to review the fatalities of persons admitted to the Pretoria Medico-Legal Laboratory over a two-year period. Read More

J Forensic Sci 2017 Nov 23;62(6):1445-1451. Epub 2017 Feb 23.

Biological Anthropology and Comparative Anatomy Research Unit, Medical School North, University of Adelaide, Frome Road, Adelaide, SA, 5005, Australia.

The aim of this research was to experimentally determine the characteristics of incised bone wounds, which are commonly found in defense injuries. A specially constructed pivoting arm device was used to inflict wounds with controlled forces and direction. Five knives were selected to inflict the wounds on porcine forelimbs. Read More

J Hand Surg Asian Pac Vol 2017 Mar;22(1):59-64

† Department of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.

Background: Penetrating upper extremity injury is a common encountered cause of significant loss of labor force and it is generally caused by sharp items. This article presents five rare cases of penetrating hand and forearm injury caused by blunt-edged items in conjunction with a detailed discussion of the mechanism and management of the injury.

Methods: Five patients with a mean age of 37. Read More

Inj Prev 2018 02 9;24(1):73-77. Epub 2017 Feb 9.

Faculty of Medicine, University Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.

Background: In Tunisia and in the Arab world, few data are available about homicide patterns. The aim of our study was to analyse the victims' profiles and the general pattern.

Methods: 636 homicide victims were autopsied at the Legal Medicine Department of Charles Nicolle Hospital in Tunis, over a period of 10 years (2005-2014). Read More