ASM 275 Unit 3 - Study Guide

1. Perimortem: injury happened near time of death (helps to reconstruct cause and manner of death) 2. Antemortem: injury happened before death (used to link medical records) 3. Postmortem: there is no injury, the bone breakage occurred after death (doesn't contribute to forensic analysis) 4. How to differentiate perimortem, antemortem, and postmortem trauma?: Antemortem Trauma 1) hematoma forms: blood pools over surface - internal scab to help stabilize the break 2) callus formation: woven bone deposited 3) remodeling of woven bone into mature bone - process of bone healing should be present (increase porosity/holes of bone near break, rounding of broken edges 1 week, callus presence 6+ weeks) - remodeling (years, can sometimes never fully heal/callus never goes away) 1 / 37 Perimortem Trauma - no signs of heeling - green bone response 1) sharp edges of fracture and lines 2) hinging - not seen in postmortem fractures 3) fracture lines 4) angled broken ends 5) hematoma staining Postmortem Trauma - not related to death, occurs after death 1) do not have fracture lines 2) greenstick and hinge fractures absent 3) breaks occur at right angles to bone shaft