Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Faculty of Law and Criminology, Section Forensic Medicine, Maastricht University, Bouillonstraat 3, 6211 LH, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Int J Legal Med. 2022 Jul;136(4):1133-1148. doi: 10.1007/s00414-022-02825-x. Epub 2022 Apr 30.
To investigate the differences between pre- and post-fire fractures, 30 human forearm bones were subjected to either blunt-force impact, burning, or both. Bones, covered in soft tissue and wrapped in clothing, were burned in a reconstructed house fire. The burning context and dynamics led to differential burning, that was equal amongst the three groups. To evaluate the damage to the bones, a data collection sheet was developed based on the current literature on fracture features. To analyze the relation between exposure temperature and fracture class and occurrence, color was measured to estimate the exposure temperature. Observable and measurable changes on bone, and fracture surfaces, were macro- and microscopically analyzed. Many features overlapped between the three groups, and thus are not usable for differentiation. Fractures caused by blunt force impact (post-mortem, pre-fire) showed a rough fracture surface with smoothness in curved/slanted regions near the margin after burning, while heat-induced bone fractures showed a smooth fracture surface. The margins and surface of bone fractures that originated after the fire (indirect heat-induced) were evenly discolored, whereas heat-induced bone fractures showed uneven discoloration of the fracture margin and surface. Although there were generally more heat-induced fractures in the 450-700 °C range, no other distinctive trend was observed between exposure temperature and class of fractures.
为了研究火灾前后骨折之间的差异，将 30 个人类前臂骨分别进行钝器冲击、燃烧或两者结合的处理。用软组织覆盖并包裹衣物的骨头在重建的房屋火灾中被燃烧。燃烧的情况和动力学导致了不同的燃烧，这在三组中是均等的。为了评估骨骼的损伤，根据当前关于骨折特征的文献，开发了一个数据收集表。为了分析暴露温度与骨折类型和发生之间的关系，通过测量颜色来估计暴露温度。对骨骼和骨折表面的可见和可测量变化进行了宏观和微观分析。三组之间有许多特征重叠，因此无法用于区分。由钝器冲击引起的骨折（死后，火灾前）在燃烧后，在边缘附近的弯曲/倾斜区域呈现粗糙的断裂表面，具有光滑度，而热诱导的骨折呈现光滑的断裂表面。起源于火灾后的（间接热诱导）骨骼骨折的边缘和表面颜色均匀，而热诱导的骨折边缘和表面颜色不均匀。尽管在 450-700°C 的范围内通常有更多的热诱导骨折，但在暴露温度和骨折类型之间没有观察到其他明显的趋势。
