Identification of skeletal structures (collection of bones)

1- Species of the bones: Are the bones human?

• a) Visual identification: e.g. in case of complete bones the anatomical features of the bone can he used for identification.

• b) Precipitin test: in case of small bone fragments it is very difficult for visual identification, but it could be accurately identified by the precipitin test which identifies the origin of the protein either human, goat, sheep. ....etc

2- Number of persons represented: Are the bones belonging to one person or more?

• a) Repetition of the same bone (2 skulls or 2 right femurs) indicates more than one person.

• b) Different bones of different ages or sexes indicate more than one person

Category: Forensic Medicine Notes