Biomedical subjects

T D Holland

Publications and source records attributed to T D Holland.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

A blue encrustation found on skeletal remains of Americans missing in action in Vietnam.

A blue encrustation was found on the repatriated remains of three U.S. Servicemen listed as missing in action (MIA) from Vietnam after 28 years. The identification and origin of the blue material was determined. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive analysis and powder X-ray diffraction identified the material as the mineral vivianite, Fe3 (PO4)2.8H2O. Vivianite has been found often associated with fossilized bone and teeth, but this example is unusual in that it is only the second published forensic example of vivianite growing from human bone after such a short period of time. The presence of vivianite provides information leading to a more complete and accurate understanding of the taphonomic process associated with American MIA remains.

Bone and Bones↗

PubMed1998

Perimortem calcaneal and talar fractures sustained in a military air crash in Vietnam.

The authors report on the skeletal elements of a minimum of 37 men who died in 1965 when their C-123 cargo airplane crashed into a mountainside in South Vietnam. Natural environmental processes reduced their bodies to skeletons; these osseous remains were recovered from the crash site nearly 10 years later. Among the remains were the calcanei and tali of at least 37 people. These bones, devoid of soft tissue, provide a rare opportunity to examine and document the pattern of perimortem fractures in multiple individuals who died in the same incident. This case also provides information on a range of variability of skeletal fractures that is unavailable in comparative skeletal collections, and that might be overlooked with radiography or during physical examination.

Accidents, Aviation↗

PubMed1995

Brief communication: estimation of adult stature from the calcaneus and talus.

Calcanei and tali of 100 skeletons in the Hamann-Todd Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History were measured. The skeletons represented 50 males and 50 females distributed equally by race, i.e., whites and blacks. Linear-regression equations, with standard errors ranging from 4.09 to 6.11 cm, were derived from these measurements for the purpose of estimating stature. Two independent control samples, including one comprised of remains of American servicemen lost in World War II and the Korea and Vietnam wars, were tested with relatively accurate results.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Estimation of adult stature from fragmentary tibias.

Linear-regression equations derived from measurements of tibial condyles from 100 individuals in the Hamann-Todd Collection retrodicted known stature with a level of confidence comparable to many of the existing stature-estimation techniques. Statures of an independent control group were estimated with similar success. The strong linear relationship that exists between the length of the tibia and the size of the condyles allows adult stature (of American whites and blacks) to be estimated from the proximal tibia. Since complete tibial length is not required, this technique could prove useful in forensic science and archaeological cases where less-than-intact elements are recovered.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Sex assessment using the proximal tibia.

The proximal end of the human tibia is sexually dimorphic. Tibial condyles from 100 individuals in the Hamann-Todd Collection were measured. Regression equations retrodicted known sex with 86-95% accuracy. A test sample of 20 individuals also from the Hamann-Todd Collection was classified with 85-100% accuracy. A sample of 20 prehistoric individuals provisionally sexed by using crania and innominate bones was classified with 85-100% agreement. Thus, the proximal tibia may be useful in determining the sex of a skeleton.

Female↗

PubMed1989

Use of the cranial base in the identification of fire victims.

Techniques exist for using the cranial base to estimate the race and sex of skeletalized individuals in forensic science cases. The applicability of these techniques to remains of fire victims has been uncertain because of possible cranial-base shrinkage that may result from burning. To determine the amount of shrinkage resulting from low-temperature burning (less than 800 degrees C), the cranial bases of eight dissecting room cadavers were measured, the bones then burned, and the cranial fragments remeasured. The wet-bone measurements were compared to the burned-bone measurements, and the percentage of shrinkage was calculated. The average change from wet to burned bone is less than 1.00%, a figure in agreement with other published studies. Since a change of 1.00% is less than intraobserver error, it is argued that low-temperature burning--such as an average house fire--does not significantly impair the accuracy of the identification techniques. Therefore, the techniques should be applicable to many fire victims.

Burns↗

PubMed1986

Sex determination of fragmentary crania by analysis of the cranial base.

The cranial base can be used to determine the sex of fragmentary or deformed skulls. An initial study used nine measurements taken from 100 crania in the Terry Collection. The sample was divided equally by race and sex. Six regression models were formulated that predicted correctly the sex of the sample with 71-90% accuracy. In a separate test, a control sample of 20 skulls, also drawn from the Terry Collection but not involved with formulating the regression equations, was correctly classified with 70-85% accuracy.

Adult↗