Distinguishing Atherosclerotic Calcifications in Dry Bone: Implications for Forensic Identification.
J Forensic Sci
; 64(3): 839-844, 2019 May.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30380150
ABSTRACT
Atherosclerotic calcifications, as calcified atheromatous elements, are markers of cardiovascular disease. However, the literature gives little information regarding their morphological aspect, making their identification very rare in skeletonized cases. In this paper, we document the morphological, histological, and SEM aspects of atherosclerotic plaques collected from unclaimed cemeterial skeletal remains from an identified osteological collection and extracted from well-preserved cadavers autopsied at the medico-legal institute of Milan. Each of the three analyses provided similar results:
atherosclerotic calcifications are convex-concave plaques with a stratified structure, a pale-yellow coloration in autopsy cases and yellow to brown when recovered in dry bone. Histologically, undecalcified and decalcified sections showed a stratified aspect formed by superimposed layers. Lastly, the SEM analysis showed a precise view of the stratified structure of the plaques in transverse section. As markers of disease, atherosclerotic calcifications can provide important antemortem information on the deceased that may be compared to antemortem data.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bone and Bones
/
Plaque, Atherosclerotic
/
Vascular Calcification
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
J Forensic Sci
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italia