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Temporal bone is often hit by projectiles. Temporal gunshot wounds must be deeply evaluated to establish wound morphology and stress distribution. Finite element analysis (FEA) is a promising tool that can support forensic aspects. A three-dimensional finite element model of a dry skull filled with neural soft tissue and a projectile.40 calibre S&W were obtained. Two situations were simulated: shot angle fired at 90° with and without neural soft tissue. The results exhibit different morphologies in bony entrance wounds as well as the strong influence of soft tissue. There was good reproducibility between bone and neural tissue real behaviour, and the finite element model that was built. In conclusion, the presence of neural soft tissue cannot be neglected in gunshot wounds, since it does alter results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The femur has been commonly employed for sex determination of human skeletal remains, and it is a suitable alternative to the more sexually dimorphic pelvis when this skeletal region is incomplete or fragmented. The purposes of this study include the evaluation of femoral sexual dimorphism and the generation of specific metric standards for the estimation of sex with the femur in skeletal Brazilian populations. Two hundred femora (130 males and 70 females) of known age at death, sex, and ancestry were used to generate the models for sex prediction. The best estimators of sex were univariable models, including the biomechanical neck length (BNLF, accuracy under cross-validation: 82.5%), the vertical head diameter (VHDL, accuracy under cross-validation: 81.5%), the transverse head diameter (THDF, accuracy under cross-validation: 84.5%), and the epicondylar breadth (EBF, accuracy under cross-validation: 84.5%). In conclusion, a comprehensive anatomical study of the femur in a reference skeletal sample from Brazil was provided, and the value of univariable sex estimators (BNLF, VHDL, THDF and EBF) was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological and biomechanical characteristics of a wound entrance on the parietal bone from the impact of projectiles presenting three different calibres. Three-dimensional finite element models of dry human skull and of three projectiles with calibres.380 Auto,.40 S&W and 9 × 19 mm Luger were obtained. These geometries were used to perform a simulation of projectile impact on the parietal bone by the finite element method. We calculated the morphological aspect of the wounds on the external bone surface, the equivalent von Mises stress and the kinetic energy loss. The wounds from the 9 × 19 mm and.380 calibres presented a circular aspect, while the wound from the.40 calibre presented an oval aspect. The 9 × 19 mm caused a major wound area compared with the other calibres. The maximum von Mises stress in the bone was higher from the.40 calibre penetration, and the.380 had the major kinetic energy loss. In conclusion, the 9 × 19 mm and.380 presented similarity in the shape of the entrance hole. The projectile with 9 × 19 mm calibre seems to have greater penetration power and the.40 S&W projectile greater power of destruction and dissipation of energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of wound ballistics should include biomechanical science for better results in diagnosis, treatments and prognosis. Finite Element Analysis can provide interesting tools when human head injuries need to be evaluated. This work is the first step in a systematic study of the use of finite element analysis in craniofacial gunshot wounds. The study aimed to systematically: (1) review the use of Finite Element Analysis on heads injuries, especially gunshot wounds; (2) review the safety of using standard patterns of Finite Element Analysis; and (3) analyse and discuss the advantages and deficiencies of finite element models. Electronic research databases, Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Knowledge, were searched using the restricted key words: finite element gunshot. Studies were included if they reported finite element analysis in heads, simulating gunshot injuries. Excluded studies were those that did not clearly describe their methods and results, had significant discrepancies, were not published in the English language or were not published yet. There were 30 references identified by the bibliographic search strategy. Fourteen manuscripts were eligible for inclusion and were fully critically appraised. The collected data were able to furnish details about the simulations as well as some variables that may affect the predictive accuracy of the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]