Forensic medical determination of the age of fractures based on X-ray research methods: A literature review

Abstract

Fractures of various locations as a result of traumatism rank second in both Russia and abroad. In Iran, and in the daily work of a forensic expert, skeletal trauma, if not prevalent, is one of the injuries encountered during the examination of victims, accused, and other persons. In addition to determining the mechanism of bone fracture formation, experts face cases of persistent injuries. Determining the time of the occurrence of bodily injuries in living persons generally does not involve special labor if full-fledged research objects are available. A much more difficult task is determining the age of a bone fracture from control radiographs, without primary clinical and radiological data, when the expert is provided with only control radiographs of the area of interest, which were taken after a long time has elapsed from the time of injury. In modern domestic and foreign scientific sources, no clear criteria have been established for determining the age of fractures based radiographs. Although some studies have been devoted to this issue in forensic medical literature, they are based on the results of nonradiological research methods: histological, histochemical, fractographic, ultrasound, and others. In the specialized literature on traumatology, determining the age of fractures since occurrence is not a priority. The analysis of literary sources shows the relevance of research on radiography methods for forensic medical practice.