Identification in Forensic Medicine

IDENTIFICATION IN FORENSIC MEDICINE, the establishment of identity (sameness) of a person based on certain signs and features that are distinctive for one or another individual. Identification is used for establishing the identity of recidivist criminals, in recognizing bodies of unidentified persons, etc. For identification, the following are used: anthropometric studies, verbal portraits, dactyloscopy, anatomical data, professional characteristics, etc. When determining identity, sex, age, height, and other distinctive features are established. The presence of sex glands, testicles or ovaries indicates the subject's belonging to one or another sex, even in disputed cases of hermaphroditism (see). In putrefactive or other destruction of the soft parts of the body or when only a part of it is present, sex can be determined by the bones of the skeleton. The male skeleton is stronger, with more pronounced tubercles and points of muscle attachment. The frontal bone descends almost vertically to the facial part of the skull in women and obliquely, sloping, in men. The entrance to the orbit is round in women and more quadrangular in men. The branches of the lower jaw form an obtuse angle in women and a right angle in men. In males, the chest is longer and narrower, the sternum is longer, the clavicles are more curved than in females. In women, the pelvis is wider and lower than the male's, the innominate bones are more spread out to the sides, the entrance to the pelvis has the shape of a transverse oval, while in men it is shaped like a 'red ace'; the sacrum in men is narrower and more inclined forward than in women. The pubic arch forms an obtuse angle on the female pelvis and an acute angle on the male. The acetabula are farther apart in women than in men. The angle between the neck and body of the femur is obtuse in men and nearly right in women. When determining age from the skeleton or its parts, the appearance of ossification nuclei, the fusion of epiphyses with diaphyses of bones, the closure of cranial sutures, changes in bones, ossification of cartilages, etc., are taken into account. According to Lacassagne, fusion occurs: at 12 years, the three parts of the acetabulum; at 15 years, the acromion, the coracoid process of the scapula; in the sacrum, the last vertebrae; at 18 years, the upper epiphysis of the femur with the diaphysis; at 21 years, its lower epiphysis; at 25 years, the fusion of the pelvic bones; at 25-30 years, the first sacral vertebra with those below it. According to Toldt, epiphyses fuse with diaphyses in the following order: at the upper end of the femur at 17-19 years, at the lower end at 19-20 years; at the lower ends of the tibia at 17-18 years, at the upper ends at 19 years and later; at the upper end of the humerus at 22 years, at the lower end at 16-17 years; at the upper ends of the forearm bones at 16-17 years, at the lower ends at 20-21 years. On the skull, at 20 years, the basilar bone fuses with the occipital; around 40 years, the posterior part of the sagittal suture closes; around 50 years, the middle of the coronal suture; around 70 years and later, the temporal sutures disappear. Between 40 and 50 years, the xiphoid process fuses with the body of the sternum, the coccyx with the sacrum; in the lesser horns of the hyoid bone, ossification nuclei appear; in the cartilages of the ribs and larynx, lime deposition increases; in flat bones, the cancellous substance begins to disappear. After 60 years, atrophic changes are present in the bones, they are thinner, less dense, and the bone marrow canals are wider. The cartilages between vertebrae thin out, and the vertebrae begin to fuse with each other. Height should be measured as accurately as possible; measurements on bodies yield slightly larger figures (the increase is insignificant). When determining height from a complete skeleton, 2-5 cm (the thickness of the disappeared soft parts) should be added to its length. By measuring individual bones of the skeleton, height can also be approximately determined using existing tables by Betz, Manouvrier, and others. For personal identification, valuable indications can be provided by the properties and characteristics of the dental apparatus: its anatomical structure, pathological changes, pathological processes (absence of teeth), dental treatments that have been performed. A frequently encountered tattoo can serve as a sign for personal identification; the location, color, type, and content of the tattoo designs are noted; the designs sometimes characterize one or another category of people. Pathological features that can be used for identification include: scars (their age and origin are determined), tumors, pigmentations, warts, skin diseases, varicose veins, hernias, and other deformities, such as cleft lip, abnormal fusion of fingers, absence of amputated or undeveloped parts, etc. Professional characteristics can also serve the purposes of identification. Photography has long been used for identifying individuals; photographs are taken in profile and en face. The condition of the face of the body is of great importance for identification; when it is destroyed, it may be impossible to identify the body. When corpse emphysema develops, the face may become unrecognizable; then an attempt is made to restore the facial features to some extent and make it suitable for photography, for which putrefactive gases are removed from the cellular tissue by massage, after making incisions on the back of the head, lateral parts of the head, and the oral mucosa; the hair is arranged, and the face is dusted with powder. To restore roundness to shrunken eyeballs, glycerin with water is injected into them; the eyelids are kept open by placing cotton wool soaked in an alum solution or an alum paste; the corneas are greased with glycerin for shine. Minovici, when photographing, inserted artificial eyes instead of collapsed eyeballs, choosing a suitable color. Glycerin is injected into the thickness of the lips, and they are greased with lipstick. The appropriate facial expression is given to the face. If there were wounds, they are sutured and covered with ochre. The body is dressed in ordinary clothing. After such toilet, photographs are taken en face and in profile; of course, photographs should also be taken before toilet. In addition to what has been said about personal identification, see Anthropometric study of criminals, Dactyloscopy, etc.