Incredible Bones is based on the perspective of two experienced scientists. Their shared goal is to better understand the human skeleton and to compile an accurate photographic and historical document of a small portion of the vast osteological collection at the Narrenturm Museum. This comparative atlas records and shares some of the most incredible skeletal malformations and the wide range of variability and severity that can afflict the human skeleton, before and after the advent of antibiotics. It captures examples of disease, malformations, and trauma with little or no surgical or medical intervention and reveals their natural progression, often, without treatment. This atlas will assist practitioners in making more accurate interpretations and in making better differential diagnosis of human skeletal remains, whether ancient, modern, or contemporary. It will also serve as a resource for scientists, oftentimes paleopathologists, in the process of excavating, analyzing, interpreting, and accurately reconstructing skeletal remains in historical contexts. Incredible Bones presents large, full color photographs augmented with diagnoses based on historical records and sometimes patient histories. Each description and interpretation (diagnosis as it were) in this book are based on medical diagnosis prior to or at the time they were received at the Narrenturm. Each photograph in Incredible Bones is intended to “show” the reader a level of detail and clarity usually only gleaned through physical examination. The authors use high quality and sometimes larger than life photographs so that readers can interpret what they are seeing and perhaps even identify subtle details not provided by the authors. Incredible Bones, therefore, serves as a comparative and exploratory photographic atlas of skeletal conditions not usually seen in daily practice or even in most skeletal assemblages, collections, or museums. This book provides readers with a behind-the-scenes perspective of some of the most extreme and thought-provoking examples in the Narrenturm pathological-anatomical collection. The format of Incredible Bones utilizes a regional approach to the human skeleton with each chapter beginning with the cranium and ending with the feet, a “head to toe” approach. Using a regional approach to the skeleton based on broad categories of conditions that include, for example, tumors and neoplasia, enables the reader to search for a skeletal condition without first having to know the name of the disease, anomaly, or other condition they are seeking to identify.

The Photographic Regional Atlas of Bone Disease is intended to serve the needs of a diverse audience including paleopathologists, physical anthropologists and other anthropologists, police, crime scene technicians, medical examiners, radiologists, anatomists, and other medical specialists, regardless of training or experience. Although originally written as a manual for physical anthropologists, it has become a reference for anyone examining skeletal remains or dealing with bone disease, especially in dry-bone specimens. Over the years it has gained in popularity as one of the few “required” manuals in most skeletal laboratories throughout the U.S. and, in fact, many countries. The purpose of the book is to bridge the gap between clinical medicine, radiology and physical anthropology by providing researchers with a single source and photographic atlas of what they might encounter in one bone or an entire skeletal collection, regardless of antiquity or origin. Unlike most texts written by clinicians for clinicians, or those that focus on one specialty, the Regional Atlas was compiled by biological anthropologists using a “dry bones” approach and simple yet precise terminology, based on examination of nearly 10,000 skeletons. The authors’ expertise and diversity in anatomy, radiology, pathology and human variation provide them with a unique perspective for distinguishing normal variation from pathological conditions. The book was written as a basic stand-alone reference for bone disease and normal variation. It contains black and white photographs and an extensive use of color plates depicting a variety of disease conditions and stages of progression that one might expect to encounter in one or many skeletons. The purpose of this text is to provide readers with sufficient information on bone disease and human variation for them to recognize, describe and interpret them. Once they have identified a disease, normal variant or other condition, they can turn to the bibliography for references and additional information. The Regional Atlas is intended to provide readers with enough information to do their own skeletal analysis. It is this “dry bones” approach, combined with the vast experiences of the authors, vivid photos and simple terminology, that sets the Regional Atlas apart from all others.

This manual is the culmination of more than 35 years of skeletal analysis, teaching forensic anthropology and conducting skeletal research at universities and museums in the U.S., Asia, Pacific, Africa, and Europe. While there are many illustrated human osteology and anatomy books available to students and professionals, there is none that approaches the topic of identifying and siding human bones quite like The Bone Book, with its large, annotated color photographs and easy-to-follow steps. Designed for use in either the lab or the field, the book covers the material from top to bottom—from cranium to metatarsals and phalanges—with the help of more than 400 vivid, full-color photographs, clearly annotated to highlight key features. Complex bones, such as the cranium, are shown in multiple photos (including several “exploded” or disarticulated skulls, showing how the complex bones fit together). In addition to the photos, the book offers easy-to-follow instructions and mnemonic tips that guide the reader, step by step, through the process of identifying every individual bone and which side of the body it came from. The Bone Book can be used as a stand-alone reference or as a companion to other sources. Although most of the photos show adult bones, the book also includes helpful photos of subadult bones and even fetal bones, which some forensic cases involve. The Bone Book will contribute to filling a gap in identifying and siding bones more easily and, in that sense, add to the body of anthropological, anatomical, and medical literature. It will be useful to anthropology students, anatomists, surgeons, medical examiners, and others working with the human skeleton.

Photographic Regional Atlas of Non-Metric Traits and Anatomical Variants in the Human Skeleton provides a unique collection of photographs derived from a broad array of novel skeletal specimens from across the globe. This atlas depicts skeletal features that are compiled to facilitate simple and direct access to some of the most interesting specimens currently known. This reference book is intended for clinicians, anatomists, anthropologists, forensic scientists, pathologists, biologists and other allied medical professionals who are fascinated with the expression of morphological features of the skeleton. It is particularly useful to the human biologist investigating genetic relatedness among and between skeletal samples utilizing non-metric trait analyses since this atlas provides a comprehensive visual guide for not only the identification and nomenclature of skeletal morphological features, but also for the appreciation of the range of anatomical expression. Photographic Regional Atlas of Non-Metric Traits and Anatomical Variants in the Human Skeleton draws from skeletal features observed from over 10,000 skeletons in collections throughout the world and provides a comprehensive yet concise presentation for rapid and reliable referral. Traits are arranged and presented based on skeletal region that facilitates ease of use for the reader when attempting to identify a feature of interest. Photographs are vividly displayed which enhances the reader's ability to compare the standard reference to a desired feature. The authors draw on their own decades of experience in skeletal anatomy to provide the best photographic atlas available for referencing daunting anatomical variations and non-metric trait morphology. As a result, Photographic Regional Atlas of Non-Metric Traits and Anatomical Variants in the Human Skeleton provides a one-of-a-kind reference that serves as a crucial component in the pursuit of skeletal anomaly research and education.

In addition to covering the work undertaken in a number of European countries, the case studies presented cover a range of issues dealt with by forensic anthropologists from around the world including; stab wounds; blunt force trauma; gunshot wounds; dismemberment; burning; personal identification, including issues relating to the investigation of ancestry in European investigations; juvenile human remains; the work of forensic anthropologists in unsolved cases; and work undertaken to eliminate discoveries of human remains from police investigations. The final chapter of the book explores new developments in the field of forensic anthropology with gait analysis and facial recognition of a living individual based on analysis of CCTV footage. This book is primarily designed for students of forensic anthropology and those engaged in forensic anthropological work in various areas of the world.

The editors, along with 15 outstanding contributors, comprehensively explore and provide an overview of the principles behind the interpretation of skeletal blunt force trauma. This expanded second edition provides a discussion on how to train for a career in forensic anthropology and offers guidance on how to complete a thorough trauma analysis. It also provides the labels given to different kinds of fractures and the biomechanical forces required to cause bone to fail and fracture. The text provides a theoretical framework for both evaluating published trauma studies and designing new ones. Experimental trauma research is an area ripe for research, and criteria to consider in choosing which non-human species to use in an actualistic study are offered. Common circumstances in which blunt force trauma is encountered are described. Information is provided on a variety of causes of death due to blunt force trauma. These causes range from accidental deaths to homicides due to blunt force from motor vehicle accidents, falls, strangulation, child and elder abuse, among others. Epidemiological information on whom is most likely affected by these various kinds of blunt force trauma is drawn from both the clinical and forensic literature. The most fundamental elements of the text are offered in four chapters where, bone by bone, fracture by fracture, the authors describe what to call each kind of fracture, what is known about how much force is required to break the bone that way, and fracture specific epidemiological information. This particular section of the text provides an invaluable reference source for forensic anthropologists and other osteologists to consult when looking at and trying to classify a bone fracture. Case studies are included to bring the book full circle back to considering the micro and macro bone changes that are seen when bone fails and fractures. The case studies are illustrative both of the concepts described through the book and of the high quality analyses forensic anthropologists contribute to medicolegal investigations of death every day. The text is further enhanced by 150 illustrations, some in color. This completely updated and expanded new volume is an essential reference for the forensic anthropology professional.

The goals of this guide to the identification and interpretation of joint disease are: (1) to identify the diagnostic criteria that are relevant to investigations of joint disease in dry and macerated bone specimens; (2) to differentiate between various disease forms; and (3) to highlight contentious issues, such as the antiquity of rheumatoid arthritis and the implications of the prevalence and severity of joint disease for reconstructing the behaviors of past peoples. The text advocates the use of unambiguous terminology and hence discusses descriptive terms and illustrates how the use of colloquial or otherwise inappropriate terms can lead to errors of interpretation. Joint disease causes proliferative and/or erosive bony lesions that preferentially, but not exclusively, affect the synovial joints of the body and this manual emphasizes those diseases. The major sections of the book review the pathogenesis, disease process, anatomical distribution, and diagnosis of osteoarthritis; multi-focal erosive arthropathies (i.e., rheumatoid arthritis and the seronegative arthropathies); the less common diseases of synovial joints, including gout, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and septic arthritis; and conditions affecting the non-synovial joints of the spine such as spinal osteophytosis, degenerative disc disease, Schmorl’s nodes, and the seronegative spondyloarthropathies. The text is greatly enhanced by exceptional illustrations and a glossary of terms completes the book.