Expert Testimony and Positive Identification of Human Remains Through Cranial Suture Patterns

El artículo presenta una revisión a través de un estudio cuantitativo de los casos antropológico-forenses ocurridos en Uruguay desde 1950 a 2013 inclusive. Los casos antropológico-forenses han crecido rápida-mente en Uruguay, desde un caso registrado en 1950 hasta 91 casos en 2013. Antes de 1992 cuando se realizaba un hallazgo de restos humanos eran examinados por el médico forense que no contaba con experiencia en éste tipo de casos ni en las técnicas antropológicas forenses. Por lo tanto, en la mayoría de los casos los restos humanos no eran identificados. Como necesidad para resolver ese problema en 1992 se creó el Laboratorio de Antropología Forense en la Morgue Judicial de Montevideo. El artículo estudia un total de 1391 casos antropológico-forenses analizados en la Morgue Judicial desde 1950 hasta 2013 inclusive. El estudio se divide en dos partes: la primera representa 225 casos ocurridos desde 1950 hasta 1991 y la segunda parte representa 1166 casos ocurridos desde 1992 hasta 2013. En cada caso los restos fueron analizados para determinar posible causa de la muerte, sexo, estatura y edad al momento de la muerte. También se analizaron los casos en que se llegó a obtener una identificación positiva. El propósito de este artículo es describir el rol de la antropología Forense en el sistema judicial uruguayo y cómo las técnicas de comparaciones cráneo-fotográficas han sido utilizadas con gran éxito para identificar restos humanos en Uruguay. The article presents a review by a quantitative analysis of the forensic anthropology cases that occurred in Uruguay from 1950 to 2013. Forensic anthropology cases have rapidly increased in Uruguay over the years, from only one case in 1950 to 91 cases in 2013. Before 1992, when human remains were found, they were analyzed by the local medical examiner with lacked experience in these types of cases and in anthropological techniques. Therefore, in the majority of cases, human remains were not identified. By the need to solve these cases in 1992, the Forensic Anthropology Laboratory at the Morgue Judicial of Montevideo was created. This article studied a total of 1391 forensic anthropology cases that were undertaken at the Judicial Morgue of Montevideo between 1950 and 2013. The study is divided into two parts: the first part represents 225 cases occurring from 1950 to 1991, and the second one represents 1166 cases occurring from 1992 to 2013. In each case the remains were analyzed to determine the deceased person sex, stature and age at the time of death. Whether a positive identification was made as a result of forensic anthropology investigation was also analyzed. The purpose of this paper is to describe the place of forensic anthropology in the Uruguayan medico-legal system and to show how skull-photograph comparison techniques were successfully used to identify human remains in Uruguay.

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Negotiating identity: reburial and commemoration of the civil war dead in southwestern Spain

Human Remains and Violence An Interdisciplinary Journal ◽

10.7227/hrv.1.2.3 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 5-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zahira Araguete-Toribio

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Civil War ◽

Spanish Civil War ◽

Dna Typing ◽

Human Remains ◽

Political Context ◽

Positive Identification ◽

The Social ◽

War Dead ◽

Social Scientific

This article considers how the reburial and commemoration of the human remains of the Republican defeated during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) is affected by the social, scientific and political context in which the exhumations occur. Focusing on a particular case in the southwestern region of Extremadura, it considers how civil society groups administer reburial acts when a positive identification through DNA typing cannot be attained. In so doing, the article examines how disparate desires and memories come together in collective reburial of partially individuated human remains.

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Solving the mechanisms responsible for organelle behavior in vivo by same-cell correlative light and electron microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100120473 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 14-15

Author(s):

Conly L. Rieder

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Quantitative Analysis ◽

Light Microscopy ◽

Living Cell ◽

Light And Electron Microscopy ◽

Time Behavior ◽

Dynamic Interactions ◽

Positive Identification ◽

Cellular Components

The behavior of many cellular components, and their dynamic interactions, can be characterized in the living cell with considerable spatial and temporal resolution by video-enhanced light microscopy (video-LM). Indeed, under the appropriate conditions video-LM can be used to determine the real-time behavior of organelles ≤ 25-nm in diameter (e.g., individual microtubules—see). However, when pushed to its limit the structures and components observed within the cell by video-LM cannot be resolved nor necessarily even identified, only detected. Positive identification and a quantitative analysis often requires the corresponding electron microcopy (EM).

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State-by-State Use of AMA Guides

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2019.sepoct01 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (5) ◽

pp. 3-7, 16

Keyword(s):

Expert Testimony ◽

Narrow Range ◽

The United States ◽

Workers Compensation ◽

Federal Employees ◽

Permanent Disability ◽

Sixth Edition ◽

History Of ◽

Canadian Provinces

Abstract This article presents a history of the origins and development of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), from the publication of an article titled “A Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment of the Extremities and Back” (1958) until a compendium of thirteen guides was published in book form in 1971. The most recent, sixth edition, appeared in 2008. Over time, the AMA Guides has been widely used by US states for workers’ compensation and also by the Federal Employees Compensation Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, as well as by Canadian provinces and other jurisdictions around the world. In the United States, almost twenty states have developed some form of their own impairment rating system, but some have a narrow range and scope and advise evaluators to consult the AMA Guides for a final determination of permanent disability. An evaluator's impairment evaluation report should clearly document the rater's review of prior medical and treatment records, clinical evaluation, analysis of the findings, and a discussion of how the final impairment rating was calculated. The resulting report is the rating physician's expert testimony to help adjudicate the claim. A table shows the edition of the AMA Guides used in each state and the enabling statute/code, with comments.

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A Trial Consultant's View of the Medical Expert Witness

Guides Newsletter ◽

10.1001/amaguidesnewsletters.2013.julaug03 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 7-10

Author(s):

Deborah Rutt ◽

Kathyrn Mueller

Keyword(s):

Nonverbal Communication ◽

Expert Testimony ◽

Medical Literature ◽

Expert Witness ◽

Personal Injury ◽

Expert Witnesses ◽

Good Teacher ◽

Medical Expert ◽

Medical Terms ◽

Medical Issues

Abstract Physicians who use the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) often serve as medical expert witnesses. In workers’ compensation cases, the expert may appear in front of a judge or hearing officer; in personal injury and other cases, the physician may testify by deposition or in court before a judge with or without a jury. This article discusses why medical expert witnesses are needed, what they do, and how they can help or hurt a case. Whether it is rendered by a judge or jury, the final opinions rely on laypersons’ understanding of medical issues. Medical expert testimony extracts from the intricacies of the medical literature those facts the trier of fact needs to understand; highlights the medical facts pertinent to decision making; and explains both these in terms that are understandable to a layperson, thereby enabling the judge or jury to render well-informed opinions. For expert witnesses, communication is everything, including nonverbal communication that critically determines if judges and, particularly, jurors believe a witness. To these ends, an expert medical witnesses should know the case; be objective; be a good teacher; state opinions clearly; testify with appropriate professional demeanor; communicate well, both verbally and nonverbally; in verbal communications, explain medical terms and procedures so listeners can understand the case; and avoid medical jargon, finding fault or blaming, becoming argumentative, or appearing arrogant.

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