Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease creating calcifying plaques in the arterial walls. Because its paleopathological diagnosis remains little studied on skeletal remains, its impact on forensic and archeological data is completely underestimated. Here, 24 skeletal remains from the Milano Cemetery Skeletal Collection have been studied to evaluate the chance of atherosclerotic calcification survival, retrieval, and identification. Through direct comparison with a known autopsy collection and literature, the identification and categorization of several types of calcifications were performed. Clothing elements such as tights or socks played a definitive role in the preservation of the calcifications; hence they are more likely to be found in forensic cases than in archeological ones. Therefore, vascular calcifications are possible to collect and identify in skeletal remains if sufficient care is given to their recovery. Consequently and as markers of the disease, such identification can provide valuable pathological information for forensic and archeological cases.

Survival of Atherosclerotic Calcifications in Skeletonized Material: Forensic and Pathological Implications / L. BIEHLER GOMEZ, A. Cappella, E. Castoldi, M. Laurent, C. Cattaneo. - In: JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES. - ISSN 0022-1198. - 63:2(2018), pp. 386-394. [10.1111/1556-4029.13592]

Survival of Atherosclerotic Calcifications in Skeletonized Material: Forensic and Pathological Implications

L. BIEHLER GOMEZ
Primo
;
A. Cappella
Secondo
;
E. Castoldi;C. Cattaneo
Ultimo
2018

Abstract

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease creating calcifying plaques in the arterial walls. Because its paleopathological diagnosis remains little studied on skeletal remains, its impact on forensic and archeological data is completely underestimated. Here, 24 skeletal remains from the Milano Cemetery Skeletal Collection have been studied to evaluate the chance of atherosclerotic calcification survival, retrieval, and identification. Through direct comparison with a known autopsy collection and literature, the identification and categorization of several types of calcifications were performed. Clothing elements such as tights or socks played a definitive role in the preservation of the calcifications; hence they are more likely to be found in forensic cases than in archeological ones. Therefore, vascular calcifications are possible to collect and identify in skeletal remains if sufficient care is given to their recovery. Consequently and as markers of the disease, such identification can provide valuable pathological information for forensic and archeological cases.
forensic science; forensic anthropology; physical anthropology; bone pathology; atherosclerosis; vascular calcifications; arteriosclerosis
Settore BIO/08 - Antropologia
Settore MED/02 - Storia della Medicina
2018
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/532865
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