Bone Fracture Interpretation in Anthropology and the Forensic Sciences

A U.S. forensic anthropologist best known for his expertise in interpreting trauma to bone and a leading authority on saw and knife mark analysis. With 30 years of experience, he has assisted federal, state, local, and international authorities in the identification and analysis of human remains. A sought-after consultant in criminal cases, Dr. Symes has been qualified as an expert for both the prosecution and defense, testifying specifically on forensic tool mark and fracture pattern interpretation in bone, as well as blunt force, ballistic, burned and healing trauma in bone. Certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and recently retired from the Board of Directors, Dr. Symes has lectured, consulted or testified on trauma cases, among them high-profile human rights cases, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kosovo, South Africa and Europe. In addition, he has authored more than 50 publications and delivered over 100 papers, lectures and workshops on a variety of forensic anthropology topics. He is co-editor of The Analysis of Burned Human Remains, Second Edition published by Elsevier / Academic Press. Dr. L'Abbe's research focuses on modern human skeletal variation with application to the forensic sciences. She has written more than 200 case reports on unidentified persons for SAPS. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Anthropologists (DABFA, 84), a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa. Collaborative research projects with Mercyhurst College (USA) include investigating alternative approaches to the estimation of ancestry in South Africans and evaluating fracture patterns of hyoid bones in cases of upper body trauma.

1. Introduction 2. Biomechanics and Bone Fractures 3. Pseudo-Trauma and Taphonomy 4. Fracture Patterns in Blunt Force Injuries to Bone 5. Forensic anthropological aspects of child abuse 6. Sharp Force Injuries 7. Ballistic Injuries to Bone 8. Thermal destruction to human remains