Kennedy K A
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 1996 Jul;41(4):689-92.
Personal identification of human skeletal remains altered by the heat of crematory furnaces in modern mortuaries may be complicated by the presence of more than a single individual in a sample. When identification of cremains of neonates and young children is required in legal disputes, as in cases where relatives suspect that a funeral establishment has presented them with the ashes of another individual, the forensic anthropologist may be consulted by their legal representative. Problems to be considered in personal identification of cremated bodies are (1) presence or absence of commingled remains in a sample; (2) identification of one or more individuals present. Methods used in sorting and identifying neonate, infant and pre-adolescent remains include reconstruction of stature in situations where long bone diaphyses are preserved, as this may provide evidence of age at time of death, and assessment of dental crown development of unerupted and erupted deciduous teeth also for age determination. These procedures were used in the case reported here concerning mortuary practices of a funeral home and a family claiming that they were presented with the cremains of an adult and not those of their 15-hour-old daughter.
在现代殡仪馆中，由于样本中存在不止一个个体，通过火葬炉高温改变的人类骨骼遗骸的个人身份鉴定可能会变得复杂。在法律纠纷中，当需要鉴定新生儿和幼儿的骨灰时，比如亲属怀疑殡仪馆交给他们的是另一个人的骨灰的情况，其法律代表可能会咨询法医人类学家。火化尸体个人身份鉴定中需要考虑的问题有：（1）样本中是否存在混合遗骸；（2）确定存在的一个或多个个体的身份。用于分类和鉴定新生儿、婴儿和青春期前儿童遗骸的方法包括：在长骨干保存的情况下重建身高，因为这可能提供死亡时年龄的证据，以及评估未萌出和已萌出乳牙的牙冠发育情况以确定年龄。本文报道的案例涉及一家殡仪馆的殡葬业务，以及一个声称他们收到的是一名成年人的骨灰而非其15小时大女儿骨灰的家庭，这些程序被应用于该案例。
