Finding MR X

Question 1

How can age be determined from x-rays of the long bones?

Answer 1

Measuring bone density (decreases with age)

Question 2

What are the main ways we can determine the age of a skeleton?

Answer 2

Looking at the:
1) Auricular surface of the ileum

2) The pubic symphyses

As age - go from being highly organised to disorganised and pitted

Question 3

How can we identify bones from pathological conditions?

Examples?

Answer 3

Diseases can leave a mark on the skeleton

Examples:
- Arthritis (bone-on-bone contact) –> wears the bones of the joint smooth

• Bunions –> fuse joint in severe cases
• Healed broken bones
• Bone remodelling

Question 4

How can habitual behaviours be seen from the skeleton?

Examples?

Answer 4

UNUSUAL wear and tare in particular parts of the skeleton

Examples:
- Related to occupation, hobbies etc

• Worn down molars/dissolved tooth enamel —> chew something regularly
• Worn down joints

Question 5

How can a European skull be identified?

Answer 5

• LONG, NARROW faces
• Circular eye sockets with squared margins
• Sharply angled nasal bones (pronounced nasal bridge)
• NARROW nasal aperture
• Teeth are small and set closely together

Question 6

What is the nasal aperture?

Answer 6

The opening in the human skull

Question 7

How can an Asian skull be identified?

Answer 7

• WIDER and SHORTED faces
• Prominent cheekbones
• Most circular orbits
• Heart shaped nasal aperture
• Nasal bridge less pronounced (between European and African)
• Shovel shaped upper incisors

Question 8

How can shovel shaped incisors of the asian skull be seen?

Answer 8

Looking at the underneath or back of the incisors (have little triangle shaped indents in them)

Question 9

How can an African skull be identified?

Answer 9

• Wider nasal aperture
• More rectangular shaped orbits
• Prominent mouth region when viewed in profile
• Very flat nasal bridge
• Jaw protrudes from the rest of the face
• Teeth are large with larger spacing between them

Question 10

How can the translucency of the tooth root help to identify age?

Answer 10

As age –> lose density in the tooth

Take thin sections of the root and measure the amount of light that passes through them, increase translucency with age

Question 11

Why is facial reconstruction used?

Answer 11

Depiction of the individual to see how they may have looked like when they were alive –> can put this out to the public

Question 12

How is facial reconstruction made?

Answer 12

• From clues from the skull: age, ethnicity and gender
• Using the muscle groups of the face
• Using the location and tissue depth of each of the muscles of the face

Question 13

Describe the process of facial reconstruction

Answer 13

.

Question 14

What factors may impact a facial reconstruction?

Answer 14

1) Facial ageing may be accelerated by:
- Cigarette smoking
- Sun damage
- Weight loss

2) Cosmetic surgery
3) Injuries
4) Disease
5) Accidents

Question 15

After applying the facial muscles onto the skull for facial reconstruction, what is the final step?

Answer 15

• Application of facial fat
• Application of a uniform flat layer of clay (to form the skin)
• Any prior information (eg. gender and ethnicity) influence the remaining features of the face (eg. ears and hair)