Caruso Valentina, Cummaudo Marco, Maderna Emanuela, Cappella Annalisa, Caudullo Giorgio, Scarpulla Valentina, Cattaneo Cristina
LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Luigi Mangiagalli, 37, Milan 20133, Italy.
Cranfield Forensic Institute, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Shrivenham, United Kingdom.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2018 Feb;165(2):363-369. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23348. Epub 2017 Oct 27.
The present study aims to evaluate the preservation of the microstructure of skeletal remains collected from four different known burial sites (archaeological and contemporary). Histological analysis on undecalcified and decalcified thin sections was performed in order to assess which of the two techniques is more affected by taphonomic insults.
A histological analysis was performed on both undecalcified and decalcified thin sections of 40 long bones and the degree of diagenetic change was evaluated using transmitted and polarized light microscopy according to the Oxford Histological Index (OHI). In order to test the optical behavior of bone tissue, thin sections were observed by polarized light microscopy and the intensity of birefringence was evaluated.
The more ancient samples are generally characterized by a low OHI (0-1) with extensive microscopic focal destruction; recent samples exhibited a better preservation of bone micromorphology. When comparing undecalcified to decalcified thin sections, the latter showed an amelioration in the conservation of microscopic structure. As regards the birefringence, it was very low in all the undecalcified thin sections, whereas decalcification process seems to improve its visibility.
The preservation of the bone microscopic structure appears to be influenced not only by age, but also by the burial context. Undecalcified bones appear to be more affected by taphonomical alterations, probably because of the thickness of the thin sections; on the contrary, decalcified thin sections proved to be able to tackle this issue allowing a better reading of the bone tissue.
本研究旨在评估从四个不同的已知埋葬地点（考古和当代）收集的骨骼遗骸微观结构的保存情况。对未脱钙和脱钙的薄片进行组织学分析，以评估这两种技术中哪一种受埋藏学损伤的影响更大。
对40根长骨的未脱钙和脱钙薄片进行组织学分析，并根据牛津组织学指数（OHI），使用透射光和偏光显微镜评估成岩变化程度。为了测试骨组织的光学行为，通过偏光显微镜观察薄片并评估双折射强度。
年代较久的样本通常具有较低的OHI（0 - 1），伴有广泛的微观局灶性破坏；近期样本的骨微观形态保存较好。比较未脱钙薄片和脱钙薄片时，后者在微观结构保存方面表现出改善。关于双折射，所有未脱钙薄片中的双折射都非常低，而脱钙过程似乎提高了其可见性。
骨微观结构的保存似乎不仅受年代影响，还受埋葬环境影响。未脱钙的骨骼似乎受埋藏学改变的影响更大，可能是由于薄片的厚度；相反，脱钙薄片被证明能够解决这个问题，从而更好地解读骨组织。
