Exploring radiogrammetry beyond the second metacarpal: Using the third, fourth, and fifth metacarpals to quantify cortical bone.

OBJECTIVE: Traditional metacarpal radiogrammetry, a method for quantifying cortical bone in metacarpals to identify bone loss, typically relies on the presence of an unaltered or undamaged second metacarpal. This study compares the cortical indices of the second to the third, fourth, and fifth metacarpals to test if an additional metacarpal can be used as substitute when the second metacarpal is not available for study. METHODS: Hand and wrist radiographs from the Burlington Growth Study, belonging to 56 individuals (28 females; 28 males) between 18 and 20 years old, were included in this study. Cortical indices were calculated for metacarpals two through five. Cortical index differences were statistically compared by sex, and the second metacarpal cortical indices were correlated with those of the third, fourth, and fifth metacarpals. RESULTS: The third, fourth, and fifth metacarpal cortical indices were all significantly correlated with the second metacarpal cortical indices for both females and males (p < .05). Cortical indices of the second metacarpal were most strongly correlated with those of the third metacarpal (females r = .644, p < .001; males r = .643, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the third, fourth, or fifth metacarpal may serve as substitutes for cortical index analyses when the second metacarpal is unavailable or unsuitable for analysis. While the second metacarpal should remain the primary choice in radiogrammetry analyses, the third metacarpal is the most suitable alternative for quantitative analyses of cortical bone.

Quantifying cortical bone in fragmentary archeological second metacarpals.

OBJECTIVES: Skeletal variation in cortical bone thickness is an indicator of bone quality and health in archeological populations. Second metacarpal radiogrammetry, which measures cortical thickness at the shaft midpoint, is traditionally used to evaluate bone loss in bioarcheological and some clinical contexts. However fragmentary elements are regularly omitted because the midpoint cannot be determined. This methodological limitation reduces sample sizes and biases them against individuals prone to fracture, such as older individuals with low bone mass. This study introduces a new technique for measuring cortical bone in second metacarpals, the "Region of Interest" (ROI) method, which quantifies bone in archeological remains with less-than-ideal preservation while accounting for cortical heterogeneity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ROI method was adapted from digital X-ray radiogrammetry (DXR), a clinical method used to estimate bone mineral density, and tested using second metacarpals from Middenbeemster, Netherlands, a 19th century known age and sex skeletal collection. The ROI method quantifies cortical bone area within a 1.9 cm-long, mid-diaphyseal region, standardized for body size differences using total area (CAIROI ). CAIROI values were compared to traditional radiogrammetric cortical indices (CI) to assess the method's ability to identify age-related bone loss. RESULTS: CAIROI values have high intra- and interobserver replicability and are strongly and significantly correlated with CI values for both males (r[n = 39] = 0.906, p = 0.000) and females (r[n = 58] = 0.925, p = 0.000). CONCLUSION: The ROI method complements traditional radiogrammetry analyses and provides a reliable way to quantify cortical bone in incomplete second metacarpals, thereby maximizing sample sizes, allowing patterns in bone acquisition and loss to be more comprehensively depicted in archeological assemblages.

Maintaining mobility after fracture: A biomechanical analysis of fracture consequences at the Roman Sites of Ancaster (UK) and Vagnari (Italy).

OBJECTIVE: This study uses biomechanical data from tibiae to investigate the functional consequences of lower limb fractures. Adults with malunited fractures are hypothesized to have experienced altered mobility, indicated by asymmetric tibial cross-sectional geometries (CSG). MATERIALS: Ninety-three adults from Roman (1st to 4th centuries CE) Ancaster, UK and Vagnari, Italy (Ancaster n = 16 adults with lower limb fracture:53 without fracture; Vagnari n = 5:19) METHODS: Biplanar radiographs were used to quantify and compare tibial CSG properties and asymmetries between individuals with and without fractures to femora, tibiae, and/or fibulae. The amount of angulation, rotation, and overlap, indicative of linear deformity, were measured for each fracture. Individuals who loaded their fractured leg differently than their opposite, uninjured leg were identified using outlying amounts of CSG asymmetry. RESULTS: Two Ancaster individuals had poorly aligned fractures. None of the Ancaster or Vagnari individuals with lower limb fractures had CSG properties or asymmetries outside the calculated normal ranges. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of how a fracture healed, individuals at Ancaster and Vagnari generally resumed mobility after trauma whenever possible. SIGNIFICANCE: This research contributes information about injury recovery and suggests that resilient behaviors and persistent mobility may have been valued or required responses to fracture in the study communities. This work advises that impairment should not be inferred based solely on the appearance of lesions. LIMITATIONS: Site, sex, and age patterns in injury recovery are not evaluated due to sample size limitations. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Biomechanical assessments of post-traumatic function in varied cultural contexts are advised in order to further characterize the impact that physical and social factors have on injury recovery.

Gendered Differences in Accidental Trauma to Upper and Lower Limb Bones at Aquincum, Roman Hungary.

It was hypothesized that men and women living in the border provinces of the Roman Empire may have encountered different risks associated with their different occupations and activities. Limb bone trauma data were used to assess sex-based differences in physical hazards and evidence for fracture healing and treatment. Two hundred and ten skeletons were examined from a late 1st to early 4th century AD cemetery at Aquincum (Budapest, Hungary). Upper and lower limb bone fracture types, frequencies, distributions, and associated complications were recorded, and gendered patterns in injury risks were explored. Of the 23 fractures identified, both sexes had injuries indicative of falls; males exhibited the only injuries suggestive of higher-energy and more direct forces. Most fractures were well-healed with few complications. The extremity trauma at Aquincum suggests that people buried here experienced less hazardous physical activities than at other Roman provincial sites. The patterns of trauma indicate the occurrence of "traditional" gender roles, whereby male civilians participated in more physically dangerous activities than females. Additionally, treatment may have been equally accessible to men and women, but certain fracture types proved more challenging to reduce using the techniques available.

Forensic scatology: preliminary experimental study of the preparation and potential for identification of captive carnivore scat.

Carnivore scats recovered from animal attack and/or scavenging contexts frequently contain forensic evidence such as human bone fragments. Forensic cases with carnivore involvement are increasingly prevalent, necessitating a methodology for the recovery and analysis of scat evidence. This study proposes a method for the safe preparation of carnivore scat, recovery of bone inclusions, and quantification and comparison of scat variables. Fourteen scats (lion, jaguar, lynx, wolf, and coyote) were prepared with sodium-acetate-formalin fixative; analytical variables included carnivore individual, species, body size, and taxonomic family. Scat variables, particularly bone fragment inclusions, were found to vary among carnivore individuals, families, species, and sizes. The methods in this study facilitate safe scat processing, the complete recovery of digested evidence, and the preliminary identification of involved animals. This research demonstrates that scat collected from forensic contexts can yield valuable information concerning both the victim and the carnivore involved.