Main description:

Publius Syrus stated back in 42 B.C., "You cannot put the same shoe on every foot." (Maxim 596) Though written long before the advent of forensic science, Syrus' maxim summarizes the theme of Forensic Medicine of the Lower Extremity: Human Identification and Trauma Analysis of the Thigh, Leg, and Foot. Put simply, the lower extremity is a tremendously variable anatomic region. This variation is beneficial to forensic experts. Differences in the leg and foot can be used to establish individual identity. Analysis of damage to the lower limb can be used to reconstruct antemortem, perimortem, and postmortem trauma. As a forensic anthropologist, I analyze cases involving decomposed, burned, m- mified, mutilated, and skeletal remains. Many of the corpses I examine are incomplete. Occasionally, I receive nothing but the legs and feet; a lower torso dragged from a river; a foot recovered in a city park; dismembered drug dealers in plastic bags; victims of bombings and airline disasters; and the dead commingled in common graves. Though the leg and foot contain much that is useful in forensic analysis, before this publication, investigators faced a twofold problem. Little research that focused on the lower extremity was available in the literature, and the existing research was published in diverse sources, making its location and synthesis a daunting task.

Contents:

Part I. Analysis, Development, and Identification Markers

The Decomposition of Human Remains: A Biochemical Perspective
Robert H. Powers

Forensically Significant Skeletal Anatomy
Nancy E. Tatarek and Dorothy E. Dean

Normal Osteology of the Knee Joint and Markers of Stress and Injury
Emily A. Craig

Anthropological Analysis of the Lower Extremity: Determining Sex, Race, and Stature From Skeletal Elements
Nancy E. Tatarek and Paul W. Sciulli

Estimating Age at Death
Douglas H. Ubelaker

Radiology of the Lower Extremity
B. G. Brogdon

Part II. Trauma Analysis and Reconstruction

Injuries to Children: A Surgeon's Perspective
Jonathan I. Groner

Skeletal Trauma Analysis of the Lower Extremity
Alison Galloway and Lauren Zephro

Biomechanics of Impact Injury
David J. Porta

Injuries of the Thigh, Knee, and Ankle as Reconstructive Factors in Road Traffic Accidents
Grzegorz Teresinski

Biomechanical Analysis of Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents
Scott D. Batterman and Steven C. Batterman

Part III. Foot Identification Case Studies, Pedal Evidence, and Ongoing Research

'The Game is Afoot': Feet Help Solve Forensic Puzzles in the United States and Overseas
Julie Mather Saul and Frank P. Saul

The Role of Feet and Footwear in Medicolegal Investigations
John A. DiMaggio

Ongoing Research Into Barefoot Impression Evidence
Robert B. Kennedy

Index