Human Osteology Flashcards

Flashcards about human osteology

Why is it important to determine if skeletonized remains are human?

To establish medicolegal significance in forensic cases, adhere to regulations for human remains in archaeological settings, and focus research in paleoanthropology.

What are the most common tools used in the field to distinguish bone from other materials?

Unique morphology and anatomy of bones, as well as their gross structural properties, such as spongy bone and cortical bone combination.

What laboratory techniques can be used to identify bone material?

Radiography, spectrographic analysis, thin sectioning and histological analysis, and molecular analysis (DNA extraction).

What does spectrographic analysis reveal about bone fragments?

The relative abundance of different chemical elements, with high abundances of calcium and phosphorus indicative of bone.

Why might healthcare professionals misidentify isolated bones?

They are generally more familiar with bone in the context of a patient or body and not used to encountering isolated bones.

What are the two main criteria for deciding if skeletal material is human or not?

Size in combination with maturity, and morphology.

Which animal postcrania are often similar in size to humans?

Deer and similarly sized antelopes can be very close in size to those of humans, as well as carnivorans like black bears and large cats.

How can developmental stage help distinguish human bones from animal bones?

Juvenile human remains lack epiphyses, while juvenile bones of large mammals might lack epiphyses but would indicate an animal that is too big.

What is a key difference in bone morphology between humans and most other mammals?

Humans have clavicles, while most non-human mammals do not have a direct osteological connection between their forelimb skeleton and the axial skeleton.

What are some distinctive features of human postcranial bones compared to other mammals?

Humans have relatively long, thin, and gracile postcranial bones and are very lightly built with thin cortical bone.

What is a challenging material to distinguish from human cranial vault bones?

Tortoise shell scutes, which have sutures and a similar inner table, outer table, and spongy bone structure.

What features differentiate human femurs from those of dogs, deer, cougars, and elk?

Human femurs are much longer and thinner, with thinner cortical bone and less prominent muscle attachments.

How do human joints differ from those of cursorially adapted mammals?

Human joints often emphasize flexibility over stability, while running mammals have joints adapted for stability.

How do human ribs differ from other mammals?

Human ribs are relatively tightly curved because humans have a relatively broad and short thorax.

How does human scapula placement differ from that of a dog or cat?

Human scapulae are positioned posteriorly on the back of the thorax, while in animals like dogs or cats, the scapula is on the side of the thorax.

What is unique about human metapodials compared to artiodactyls?

Humans retain five digits, while artiodactyls have fused metapodials with a highly distinctive spooled articular end.

What are some distinct differences between carnivore paws and human feet?

Carnivores have claws and more stout metapodials with more distinguished head morphology with a more prominent keel on the distal end.

What are some differences between pig teeth and human teeth?

Pig teeth enamel tends to be highly complex and wrinkled in morphology compared to human teeth. Pig molars also have four distinct roots compared to the two or three roots human molars have.

How is non-mammalian compared to human bone?

Non-mammalian bones are much more different from human bones due to reptile bones lacking epiphyses and subchondral bone surfaces. bird lacks bone is thin and light with large cavities.

What should be done with remains in the field that cannot be clearly distinguished to not be human?

Treat all remains as human until they can be more reliably identified in a lab where more analysis can be completed to confirm if it is human.