Abstract
This chapter reviews the methods of forensic anthropological analysis in skeletal damage to the lower extremity and serves as an introduction for later chapters discussing the underlying physics and methodology used in engineering accident reconstruction. The discussion herein includes the interpretation of the mechanism of injury and the types of defects seen most commonly within forensic contexts. No such discussion can be comprehensive and each case must be assessed separately. Consistency with known patterns of damage can be stated, but in the majority of cases, the exact cause of injury cannot be determined. Analysis of lower extremity skeletal trauma requires an understanding of the movement patterns in which these bones have evolved, the capacity of the joints to absorb forces, the effects of forces beyond the capacity of bones and joints to withstand, and the resultant fracture patterns produced by excessive force.
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Galloway, A., Zephro, L. (2005). Skeletal Trauma Analysis of the Lower Extremity. In: Rich, J., Dean, D.E., Powers, R.H. (eds) Forensic Medicine of the Lower Extremity. Forensic Science and Medicine. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-897-8:253
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-897-8:253
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