ABSTRACT
A decomposed body was judged at the scene to have two gunshot wounds of the thorax and three of the head. Confirmed at autopsy, the condition of the remains precluded conclusions about the precise nature of the defects. Preparation and reconstruction of the skull disclosed seven large cranial defects and a series of fractures. This preparation allowed the application of well-known principles of gunshot wound analysis. Although the analysis of specific gunshot wound defects is well covered in the literature, there are few examples of the application of gunshot wound principles to complex wound cases. Three entrances and three exits were identified. A seventh defect resulted from bullet passage. Finally, the wounds were sequenced.
Subject(s)
Anthropology, Physical/methods , Forensic Medicine/methods , Postmortem Changes , Skull/injuries , Wounds, Gunshot/pathology , Adult , Humans , MaleABSTRACT
The process of building human faces by applying clay to skulls to generate leads for identification of unknown human remains is plagued by the use of a number of terms which are already used for other purposes. Reconstitution, reconstruction, restoration, death mask, moulage, and sculpture have all been used, but each is used in another context in forensic science. "Facial reproduction" is suggested as a term which is not already in use in forensic science, which is precise, and which would thus be preferred over any of the other terms.
Subject(s)
Face , Forensic Medicine/methods , Humans , Terminology as TopicABSTRACT
The production of a three-dimensional plastic face on a human skull has been practiced sporadically since the latter part of the last century. In recent years, the technique has been revived and applied to forensic science cases. Contemporary facial reproduction are based on a small sample collected before the turn of the century. In this paper, we present data on a heretofore unstudied segment of Homo sapiens, the American black. Facial tissue thicknesses for this group vary greatly from those previously reported in European whites and in Japanese. Use of these data should make possible more accurate facial reproduction on the skulls of American blacks.
