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A medical certificate is a statement from
a physician or other health care provider that
attests to the result of a medical examination of a
patient.
Usually done by Forensic Experts
 Some states – Anatomy people
 Questions by police officer
1. Whether the bones are human or not?
2. If human, whether they are male or female?
3. Whether they belong to one or more individual?
4. The stature of the individual to whom the bones
belonged
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5. The age of the individual to whom the bones
belonged.
6. The time of death.
7. Whether the bones have been cut, sawn, gnawed
by animals or burnt?
8. The probable cause of death.
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1. General description
Arrange, list, photograph
Sand, dust – Acetone
Soft tissues – Boiled
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2. Are the remains actually bone/not
Anatomical structure
Microscopic exam
3. Human/Animal
Anatomical
Difficult- Small, fragmented, burnt
 Precipitin test
 Microscopic exam
 Chemical analysis of bone
ash
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Principle:
› Precipitin
› Anti-human precipitin serum
TECHNIQUE
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4. Sex
- After puberty, except pelvis
- Pelvis, skull, femur, humerus
Scars of parturition- pubic symphysis
Greater sciatic notch
Medullary index- Long bones
Krogmans’ Rule
- Pelvis – 95%
Skull – 90%
- P + S – 98%
Long bones – 80%
- Entire skeleton – 100%
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5. One / more individual
Reconstructing the skeleton
- Reduplication
- Disproportion
- Articulation
- Sex
- Age
- Race
- Co-mingling of bones
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 If
mixing of bones from more than one
skeleton is suspected, they can be separated
by the use of a shortwave ultraviolet lamp by
the difference in the colour emissions
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- Long bones
 Karl Pearson’s formulae
 Trotter & Glesser formulae
 Pandith
 Nath and singh
 Siddique
 Harrison & Dupetroid formulae
- Hepburn's osteometric board
Stature =( Length X GF )+ FF
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- Steele formulae- Fragmented bones
- Not valid – Children’s
Gigants
Dwarfs
 Rule of thumb for stature
- Humerus – 20%
Tibia – 22%
- Femur
- 27%
Spine – 35%
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7. Age
 Eruption of teeth: when ever skull and mandible are
available.
 Ossification centers – A & F
 Closure of cranial vault sutures: if the skull is intact
 Bony lipping – 35 to 40 yrs
Gustaffson's technique:
 Changes in mandible.
 Symphysial pubis changes in Articular surfaces
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Sternum – 4 pieces of body of sternum  14 to 25 yrs.
Xiphoid unites with body  40 yrs.
 Hyoid bone – Greater cornua of hyoid bone fuses with
body at 40 to 60 yrs.
 Sacrum – Becomes single bone  21 to 25 yrs.
 Changes at margin of the glenoid cavity of scapula.
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8. Race
- Skull – Cephalic index
- Bones of lower limb
9. Identification
- Teeth
- Bones
-Surgical procedures
-spinal deformity
- Skull – Superimposition
-previous dental radiograph and x-rays-contours and
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cancellous patterns of various bones
10. Time since death
Factors- Burial, soil, climate, insects, animal
- Soft tissue remnants – 1 – 3 months
- Joint capsule & ligaments – 3 – 5 months.
- Recent bone – Greasy, heavy, odour.
- Completely dry but has putrid smell –
3 month -1 year.
- Completely dry & no putrid smell –more than 1 yr.
- Periosteum – Several months
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Dating of bones
- Nitrogen – 4-5gm%  Recent
3.5gm%  50 to 100yrs
- Fluorescence with UV light  < 100yrs
Absent  500yrs
- Precipitin test  Negative after 10yrs
- Histological  >50yrs –Pockets of resorption
- By estimation of C14 (half life – 5600 yrs)
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- Ends of long bones – Clean cut, sawn, gnawed
- No injury – Smooth
- Burns – Brittle
- AM / PM
- PM conditions may cause fractures and
fragmentation due to continued and repeated freezing
and thawing and from the pressures of shifting soil
weight.
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- In most cases not possible.
- Ante mortem # covering vital organ-skull bones,
upper cervical vertebra, hyoid bone, several ribs or
,marks of deep cuts in long bones or marks of burning.
- Ante mortem # covering non vital organ – Death
due to serious assault
-Bones should be examined for firearm injuries.
- Metallic poisons arsenic, antimony, lead or
mercury.
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ANY FATAL INJURIES
NO (ABSENT)
YES (PRESENT)
POISONING
(HEAVY METAL)
DROWNING
CHEMICAL
ANALYSIS
DIATOM TEST
+VE
-VE
-VE
+VE
-VE = NATURAL DEATH
+VE = UNNATURAL DEATH
FRACTURE
HEALING OF FRACTURE
ANTE
MORTEM
ORIGIN
POST
MORTEM
ORIGIN
EXAMINATION REPORT
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Requisition
Received one bone from Dept. of FM
Date, Time & Place of exam
Bone is dry, devoid of soft tissues & nonfoulsmelling
Belongs to human being
Belongs to one individual/ more than one
Sex
Age
Sl. NO Name of
ossification
Centre
Age of
Appearance
Age of Fusion
Finding in Inference
the given
bone
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Secondary ossification centers- A & F
Race - Cephalic index- B/L x100
Stature - Long bones- L x GF + FF
Injury
Time since death
Cause of death
Opinion
The given bone is a human……. bone belonging to
a male/female individual aged >…….yrs & <……..yrs.
Date:
Designation:
Place:
Signature
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1) Precipitin Test?
 2) Name various methods to determine stature by
long bones?
 3) Hepburn osteometric board?
 4) How do you determine time since death by
examination of bones?
 5) Skeletenization?
 6) MLI of age 7,10, 12, 14, 18, 21 and 25?
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6) Poisons found ( Detected) in bones (nails &
hairs)?
 7) How do you determine cause of death by
examination of bones?
 8) Krogmans’ Index?
 9) Rule of thumb of stature?
 10) Co-mingling?
 11) superimposition
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1) Write brief about collection, preservation and
packing of viscera for chemical analysis?
 2) Difference between postmortem lividity and
bruise?
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
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