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01-01-2018 | Original Article

Characterization of bone diagenesis by histology in forensic contexts: a human taphonomic study

Authors: Yann Delannoy, Thomas Colard, Catherine Cannet, Vadim Mesli, Valéry Hédouin, Guillaume Penel, Bertrand Ludes

Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Issue 1/2018

Abstract

The diagenesis of a bone in the postmortem period causes an identifiable deterioration in histology. This degradation is characterized by a collagenous alteration, which can be observed very early. In order to develop a method for determining a postmortem interval for medico-legal use, two ribs collected from six human bodies were studied prospectively over 2 years. Each bone was studied after staining with Sirius red to demonstrate the degradation of collagen as a function of time. This study demonstrated a time-based bone alteration characterized by the architectural degradation of the lamellar bone, without any microbial influence in this postmortem period. The staining was carried out by using Sirius red and correlated this alteration with a collagenic degradation by chemical hydrolysis owing to the affinity of this dye to the amino acids lysine, hydroxylysine, and arginine. Our work asserts that human bone samples that were studied in a controlled environment and analyzed for 24 months underwent a diagenetic trajectory whose main element was collagen hydrolysis.

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Title: Characterization of bone diagenesis by histology in forensic contexts: a human taphonomic study
Authors: Yann Delannoy
Thomas Colard
Catherine Cannet
Vadim Mesli
Valéry Hédouin
Guillaume Penel
Bertrand Ludes
Publication date: 01-01-2018
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine / Issue 1/2018
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Electronic ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1699-y

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Characterization of bone diagenesis by histology in forensic contexts: a human taphonomic study

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