Trauma Analysis & Forensic Veterinary Anthropology – Core Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms, concepts, fracture types, healing phases, pathological conditions, taphonomic processes, and tool-mark characteristics presented in Modules 1–6 of the lecture notes on forensic trauma analysis and veterinary anthropology.

Trauma Analysis

The study of skeletal injuries to determine the mechanism and timing of bone trauma using biomechanical principles.

Trauma

Any external force or event that upsets the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis; in osteology, the evidence left in bone by that force.

Antemortem Trauma

Injury that occurred before death, identified by signs of healing.

Perimortem Trauma

Injury that occurred at or around the time of death, typically showing greenstick fractures or plastic deformation in living bone.

Postmortem Damage

Alterations to bone after death, caused by taphonomic factors rather than true trauma.

Blunt Force Trauma (BFT)

Injury caused by slow-loading forces over a broad surface (e.g., bat, fist, car strike), producing discontinuities and plastic deformation.

Sharp Force Trauma (SFT)

Injury caused by slow-loading forces over a narrow surface (e.g., knife, saw), producing well-defined cuts or kerfs.

High-Velocity Projectile (HVP) Trauma

Injury from rapid force over a small area (e.g., gunshot, shrapnel), identifiable by characteristic beveling patterns.

Thermal Alteration

Bone changes caused by exposure to heat or fire, often postmortem.

Plastic Deformation

Permanent bending of living bone under slow-loading forces before fracture occurs.

Biomechanics

The application of mechanical principles to biological tissues, explaining how bones respond to forces.

Compression Force

Force acting to decrease bone dimensions, placing bone under squashing stress.

Tension Force

Force acting to increase bone dimensions, pulling bone apart.

Bending

Combination of compression on one side of a bone and tension on the opposite side.

Shear

Force causing portions of bone to slide past each other.

Torsion

Combined shear and rotational force twisting a bone.

Magnitude (of Force)

The amount of force applied; higher magnitude produces more severe fractures.

Rate (Dynamic vs. Static)

Speed at which force is applied; dynamic = sudden/high speed, static = slow/low speed.

Yield Point

Stress level at which elastic deformation ends and plastic deformation begins.

Failure Point

Stress level at which bone fractures occur.

Strength (Bone)

Load value at bone’s failure point.

Toughness (Bone)

Energy required to fracture bone; a measure of energy absorption.

Creep Fracture

Failure from low static load applied over long time, producing progressive deformation and cracks.

Fatigue (Stress) Fracture

Failure from repeated sub-failure loading causing microcracks that coalesce.

Incomplete Fracture

Break where bone retains some continuity (e.g., bow, greenstick).

Complete Fracture

Break where bone continuity is lost (e.g., transverse, spiral).

Bow Fracture

Exaggerated curvature without full break, common in juveniles due to bending forces.

Torus/Buckle Fracture

Buckling of the cortex forming a rounded bulge, produced by compression.

Greenstick Fracture

Partial transverse break with angular deviation, typical in juveniles under bending.

Depressed Fracture

‘Caving-in’ of bone surface, common in skull from compression impacts.

Transverse Fracture

Break at right angles to bone’s long axis, often from perpendicular shear/bending.

Oblique Fracture

Diagonal break across shaft, produced by angulation and compression.

Spiral Fracture

Fracture circling shaft, characteristic of torsional (twisting) forces.

Comminuted Fracture

Break producing two or more fragments; includes butterfly fragments and results from high energy.

Epiphyseal Fracture

Fracture through growth plate, risking growth disturbances; caused by compression or shear.

Pseudo-trauma

Normal anatomical variants or pathology mistaken for trauma (e.g., sternal foramen, supratrochlear foramen).

Reactive Phase (Healing)

Initial days post-fracture with bleeding, inflammation, osteoclast resorption, and early osteoblast activity.

Reparative Phase

Weeks-months stage where woven bone callus forms, stabilizing the fracture.

Remodeling Phase

Months-years process replacing woven bone with mature lamellar bone, gradually smoothing callus.

Callus

Proliferative bone (often raised) formed during reparative healing to bridge fracture.

Pseudoarthrosis

False joint formed when improperly aligned or mobile fracture fails to unite, exhibiting rounded ends and movement wear.

Myositis Ossificans

Heterotopic bone formation in muscle after injury.

Ossific Tendonitis

Pathologic ossification within tendons near injury site.

Osteonecrosis

Bone tissue death due to disrupted blood supply; avascular necrosis in joints causes collapse.

Intervention

Medical stabilization of fractures (e.g., casts, plates, intramedullary pins, external fixators).

Neglect

Failure to provide adequate care, evidenced skeletally by untreated or poorly treated injuries and infection.

Abuse

Intentional mistreatment producing repeated or patterned injuries in various healing stages.

Periostitis

Inflammation of periosteum causing new bone proliferation on outer cortex.

Osteitis

Bone infection spreading from outer to inner surfaces.

Osteomyelitis

Infection originating in marrow, producing internal bone growth, sequestra, and cloacae.

Harris Lines

Radiographic transverse growth-arrest lines in long bones indicating past stress or starvation.

Linear Enamel Hypoplasia

Horizontal grooves or pits in tooth enamel from childhood growth disruption (e.g., malnutrition).

Bone Marrow Fat Analysis

Measurement of residual marrow fat; values <20 % suggest severe starvation.

Cribria Orbitalia

Porous expansion in eye orbits linked to chronic anemia.

Porotic Hyperostosis

Porous thickening of cranial vault (diploë) associated with anemia.

Osteoarthritis

Degenerative joint disease marked by osteophytes, eburnation, and lipping.

Osteophyte

Bony projections at joint margins formed by osteoarthritis.

Eburnation

Polished, ivory-like bone surface from cartilage loss and bone-on-bone contact.

Osteoporosis

Systemic reduction in bone density and cortical thickness, increasing fracture risk.

Vitamin D Deficiency (Rickets/Osteomalacia)

Poor mineralization causing soft, bowed bones and potential fractures.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Inherited collagen disorder causing fragile bones, frequent fractures, and thin cortices.

Taphonomy

Study of postmortem processes affecting remains, including decomposition, dispersal, burial, and modification.

Environmental Taphonomic Factors

Weather, microclimate, water, burial conditions influencing decomposition and bone change.

Individual Taphonomic Factors

Intrinsic traits (age, sex, health) affecting how a body decomposes.

Cultural Taphonomic Factors

Human actions (embalming, burial, dismemberment) altering postmortem changes.

Diastatic Fracture

Fracture that propagates along cranial sutures, widening them.

Buttressing (Bone)

Natural thickened areas acting as structural pillars; fractures often avoid them.

Pattern Injury

Skeletal lesion retaining the shape or class characteristics of the causative weapon.

Hangman’s Fracture

Bilateral pedicle fracture of C2 from forceful hyperextension (e.g., hanging).

Kerf

Cut groove produced by a saw; analyzed for saw characteristics.

Kerf Floor

Bottom of a saw cut; shape (W, square, U) indicates tooth form and motion.

Kerf Wall

Side surface of a saw cut bearing striations reflecting saw type and action.

Breakaway Spur

Small uncut ledge at end of saw stroke indicating direction of cut.

Exit Chipping

Flaked bone at kerf margin where saw teeth exit, showing cutting direction.

Teeth-per-Inch (TPI)

Count of saw teeth per inch, estimated from tooth impressions in kerf wall.

Cross-Cut Saw

Saw with knife-like angled teeth for cutting across grain; leaves W-shaped kerf floors.

Rip-Cut Saw

Saw with chisel-like teeth for cutting with grain; leaves square kerf floors.

Circular Saw

Rotary blade producing curved kerf striations and square or U-shaped kerf floors.

Skip/Chatter Marks

Irregular, step-like kerf wall impressions from unstable saw motion.

Chop Wound

Injury combining sharp and blunt characteristics, typically from machete, axe, or hatchet.

Creep

Progressive deformation of bone under constant low load over time.

Fatigue

Progressive weakening of bone from repeated loading cycles below failure threshold.