An Analytic Review of Burnt Bones in Medicolegal Sciences

This unique reference provides a primary source for osteologists and the medical/legal community for the understanding of burnt bone remains in forensic or archaeological contexts. The death may be caused due to criminal burning of the body, e.g. in accidents like plane crash and fire in vehicles, houses, public places, and forests and in suicidal burning. The identification from bone chips of such fire victims is a challenging task for forensic experts. This paper is aid to those interested in the analysis of burned human bodies, to death scene investigators, to biological anthropologists looking at the recent or ancient dead. Researchers in bone biology, forensic anthropology, and endocrinology have greatly enlightened the effects of extreme heat on skeletal remains. This communication presents a focused discussion of the major procedures available in burnt bone study and their applications. It also describes in detail the changes in human bone and soft tissues on burning.