Radiographic Identification by Mastoid Sinus and Arterial Pattern

Abstract

A skull and some incomplete postcranial remains were discovered in two searches over a two-month period near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The discoveries could be demonstrated to be from the same person, and the remains were shown to be consistent with a specific missing person on the basis of anthropological analysis. Further work led to a positive identification on multiple grounds, including agreement of the details of the mastoid sinus and endocranial arterial patterns observed radiographically. These features may be useful for establishing positive identification from skeletal remains when antemortem radiographic studies for comparison are limited to lateral cranial vault studies.

Identification of unknown bodies by using CT images of frontal sinus

“…The personal identification of an unknown person by the matching of antemortem and postmortem radiographs has gradually gained popularity among forensic scientists since the technique was first successfully applied by Culbert and Law in 1927 [2]. Many parts of the skeleton as thorax, vertebrae, shoulder [3], skull [4] and mastoid process [5] can be used for identification of a person. Most reliable parts of the skeleton for identification are those which are anatomically variable or which exhibit change due to trauma, illness or surgical intervention [6][7][8][9].…”

Spheno-Occipital Synchondrosis Fusion in Modern Americans*,†

“…Scheuer and Black (12) ascertain that spheno‐occipital synchondrosis fusion is related to maturation events that occur at adolescence and that estimates of 18–25 years are most certainly overestimates. A suitable illustration of this dilemma exists in the form of a case summary submitted by Rhine and Sperry (14), in which a fused spheno‐occipital synchondrosis was used to support an age of 25 years for a missing person. A second visit to the crime scene yielded additional skeletal remains, and the initial age estimate came into question.…”

“…The corrected age estimate agreed with the condition of the rest of the postcranial remains and with the missing person’s description. Rhine and Sperry (14) point out that one major problem with the initial estimate was the use of McKern and Stewart’s (2) standards for males, which overestimate age‐at‐death in females because males fuse later than females. Furthermore, an age range assigned to a fused synchondrosis sets the lower age limit but cannot offer further information about an upper age limit (14).…”

“…Rhine and Sperry (14) point out that one major problem with the initial estimate was the use of McKern and Stewart's (2) standards for males, which overestimate age-atdeath in females because males fuse later than females. Furthermore, an age range assigned to a fused synchondrosis sets the lower age limit but cannot offer further information about an upper age limit (14). Bassett et al (15) reported a similar experience with a forensic case whose identity was suspected to be that of a 13-year-old missing black female.…”

A Large‐Sample Test of a Semi‐Automated Clavicle Search Engine to Assist Skeletal Identification by Radiograph Comparison

“…Radiographic comparison for identification is a well-established method in legal medicine (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9), being widely employed in forensic pathology (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), odontology (18)(19)(20)(21), and anthropology (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). As these studies show, the methods work particularly well when search universes otherwise termed identification universes (29) are small.…”