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14 Police J. 50 (1941)
The Effects of Heat on Histological Structure of Bone

handle is hein.journals/policejl14 and id is 62 raw text is: The Effects of Heat on the Histological Structure of Bone By GILBERT FORBES B.Sc., M.B.Ch.B., F.R.F.P.S., F.R.C.S.(Ed.) Lecturer in Forensic Medicine at the University of Sheffield. Police Surgeon to the City of Sheffield INTRODUCTION A S attempts are sometimes made to conceal a crime by burning human remains it may happen that a few charred specimens are all that the medico-legal expert may have to work on. It may not even be obvious that the specimens produced are indeed bone, far less human bone, as all the osseous landmarks may have been destroyed by exposure to flame. This is particularly the case when the remains have been those of a fRetus or young child. About two years ago a garden hut was burned down and no reason was apparent for the outbreak of the fire. Some weeks later, when the owner was clearing away the debris, he found amongst the ashes what he thought looked like the remains of a child's foot enclosed in a charred boot. This specimen appeared on naked-eye examination like the lower ends of the tibia and fibula and the bones of the tarsus, all fused on to the sole of a heavy boot. A radiological examina- tion was carried out and the radiologist expressed the opinion that the X-ray appearances approximated closely to those of bone. Sections of the material were ground and compared with pieces of human bone that had been charred to a similar degree. The similarity was so striking as to lead an expert anatomist to express the opinion that the specimen was almost certainly bone. Ultimately, as a result of chemical analysis, it was proved that the material did not contain the requisite proportions of mineral salts and therefore could not be bone.

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