Crisis in cremation. Cremation form should be abolished.
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[Stress deformations of skeletal remains from prehistoric cremation burials].
Vertebrae and parts of joints from long bones from prehistoric cremations of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age are presented, showing marked deformations caused by pressure during cremation when bones exposed to temperatures of 400 degrees-500 degrees Centigrade display minimal hardness. The vertebrae with deformation of the arcus parts are only from the lower vertebral column; on account of the weight of this body region, this suggests that the corpse lay in the dorsal position at the place of cremation. The fact that there were deformed arches only on one side might suggest an irregular structure of the surface on which the corpse lay. In the prone position, i.e. in the absence of pressure caused by body weight, all vertebrae should be unaltered; alternatively, if cremation wood was piled on top of the corpse, the arches of thoracic and cervical vertebrae are also likely to be deformed. Deformations resulting from weight bearing were found in the joints of extremities only, with flattening of the heads of joints as well as fissures in the external layers of bones and compression into folds. Some bones show distinct even grooves caused by direct pressure, possibly resulting from the fixation of joint regions for cremation? Evidently the deformations caused by the weighting down of different skeletal regions provide hints that may help in the recognition of cremation rites. It would be helpful if experimental cremations could be performed to establish the pressure necessary to cause deformations.
Biomechanical Phenomena↗
Post-cremation taphonomy and artifact preservation.
Contemporary commercial cremation is a reductive taphonomic process that represents one of the most extreme examples of postmortem human alteration of bone. The thorough reduction and fragmentation of cremated human remains often leaves little biological evidence of diagnostic value. Instead, non-osseous artifacts often provide the best evidence of the origin of the cremated remains, the identity of the decedent, and commingling of the remains of more than one individual. Once human remains have been cremated they are most commonly placed into a processor and reduced into small fragments and fine ash suitable for inurnment or scattering. The type of processor determines the size and utility of the particulates and artifacts available for analysis. The newest type of processors have changed the manner and degree of postmortem bone modification and altered the preservation of diagnostic bone fragments and cremation artifacts. This paper addresses the impact of the newest cremation procedures on forensic analysis of cremated remains.
Forensic Anthropology↗
[Some new aspects in the study of human cremations (author's transl)].
Thermally induced reactions of bone mineral are outlined. The shrinkage of cremated bones is due to sintering of bone mineral. In an electron microscopic study changes of bone structure caused by thermal treatment and sintered mineral units are described. The problems of estimating the shrinkage factor and the use of cremation weight for identification and discussed. There is a significant difference between mean weights of cremations of senile males and females. The absolute difference indicates, that cremation weight is not a useful criterion for identification. Even in cremated bones, cuts and saw marks can be detected.
Age Factors↗
[Cremation and the environmental mercury burden].
The dental status of 130 deceased Zurich people was evaluated from radiographs of their maxillary and mandibular dentitions taken during their autopsies. A mean mass of mercury of 2.49 +/- 0.37 g was calculated per dentate deceased based on the analysis of 134 extracted premolars and molars with amalgam restorations. The mercury contamination due to cremation in 1988 in Switzerland was calculated to vary between 45.8 and 79.0 kg, based on both the data from the sample analyzed and the fact that 55.5% of Swiss funerals were cremations, the average age of death was 73 and that 70% of the people of that age retained some of their teeth. Mercury contamination by cremation, therefore comprised only 0.61 to 1.53% of the total mercury contamination produced by all waste incineration methods. The minimal contribution to the mercury contamination due to cremation can thus not be used as an argument to ban the use of dental amalgams.
Air Pollutants↗
[The incidence of ischemic heart disease in white South Africans cremated in Pretoria, 1978-1985].
The prevalence of ischaemic heart disease was studied in a population selected on the basis of an application for cremation by the next of kin. In the age group 35-44 years 15.2% of the deaths were ascribed to ischaemic heart disease (IHD), while the corresponding figure in the general population was 27.2%. In females in the age group 45-54 years IHD was responsible for 9.3% of the deaths; the corresponding prevalence in the general population was 18.3%. The figures for all age groups and both sexes were 22% for the cremation group and 24.5% for the general population. In the economically active group (20-65) years, the figures were 20.0% for the cremation group and 30% for the general population. There was no significant difference in the IHD deaths between Afrikaans-speakers and other language groups. These findings are not necessarily applicable to the general population, as the cremation group is not truly representative, but the consistently lower prevalence of IHD suggests that there is over-reporting of this disease in unmonitored death certification.
Cause of Death↗
[A contribution towards metrical sex determination of cremated and uncremated human bone remains, worked out at the pars petrosa ossis temporalis (author's transl)].
A new method for sex diagnosis is presented; the uni-, di-, and multivariate analysis of the Pars petrosa, which is a part of the temporal bone. This work was initiated because the Pars petrosa can be found very often among human cremation remains. Two different discriminant functions were worked out, and their comparison shows the great value of considering all the characteristics. Consideration of three measurements can give a sex determination of remarkable accuracy (about 80%). Even the uni- and divariate examinations yield important leads. The last part of this work deals with the possibility of applying the method to cremated bones. The most important point to consider is the shrinking of burnt bones. Appropriate new mean values of the first three measurements and an adapted sectioning point are given. Yet, even without shrinkage-correction the functions possess great reliability in the application on cremated material.
Adult↗
Evidence of arteriosclerosis in cremated remains.
Severely burned or cremated human remains (i.e., cremains) are among the most challenging cases investigated by forensic pathologists, odontologists, and anthropologists. Exposure to extreme heat of long duration destroys all organic components of the body, leaving only the inorganic component of the skeleton. The numerous calcined osseous or dental fragments that remain after the cremation process rarely convey useful information to the investigator. In most cases, it is associated nonosseous artifacts that provide evidence of the decedent's identity. In a case investigated at the University of Florida's C. A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory, as well as in several cases examined during data collection for a research project, several fragments were identified as calcined plaque tubules from sclerotic blood vessels. These tubules provide direct evidence that the cremated individual had a variety of arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis↗
Radiation safety issues regarding the cremation of the body of an I-125 prostate implant patient.
Radiation exposure to the public is estimated if the body of an I-125 prostate implant patient is cremated. Precautions regarding the handling of cremated remains are suggested. Cremation can be performed safely at any time.
Brachytherapy↗
An end to D-I-Y cremation?
This article examines whether to be lawful a cremation must be carried out in accordance with the Cremation Acts. It argues that it need not be but points out that any lacuna in the Acts will be plugged if and when the new consolidated Cremation Regulations are passed. It then considers the implication of this reform for the disposal of babies born dead before the legal age of viability.
History, 19th Century↗
[Amount of mercury from dental amalgam filling released into the atmosphere by cremation].
Mercury in dental amalgam filling is released into the atmosphere by cremation and is a suspected source of mercury pollution. The amount of mercury released was measured at three crematoriums. First, mercury levels in the atmosphere were measured. Mercury existed mainly in the gaseous form in ambient air. The concentration of atmospheric mercury at the three crematoriums (S, T and M) ranged from 4.3 to 19.7ng/m3, which was nearly identical to levels in our university surveyed as the control area and also to the levels of atmospheric mercury in general in Japan. Secondly, the amount of mercury release from T crematorium was estimated using official published statistical data in Japan and calculated as follows: sigma[(age specific number of dead that were cremated) x (the number of restored teeth by age category) x (mercury content per amalgam filling (0.6 g))] x (prevalence rate of restoration with amalgam). The amount of mercury released from this crematorium was estimated to be approximately 9.4 kg per year, or a daily release of 26 g into the ambient air. These results indicate that mercury release by cremation is similar to that from other man-made sources.
Air Pollutants↗
[Autopsy before cremation--formality without efficacy?].
A multicentre study involving 36 out of 38 German medico-legal Institutes discovered 784 non-natural fatalities among 78,000 external examinations before cremation (1%) in 1995. These included 169 accidents, 16 suicides, 3 homicides and 589 deaths in connection with medical treatment. In the remaining 7 cases, a belated differentiation between homicide and accident was not successful. A linear projection results in 1980 non-natural fatalities among all 197,000 external examinations before cremation. This number includes 8 homicides but due to considerable inhomogeneities, a number of 40 homicides appears to be realistic. Consequently, abolishing the mandatory external examination before cremation would be equivalent to an official renouncement of solving relevant non-natural deaths. In case of a thorough external examination, a total of 18,000 non-natural fatalities including approximately 180 homicides could be detected per year during the first external examinations (n = 885,000).
Autopsy↗
Metastatic carcinoma of presumed prostatic origin in cremated bones from the first century A.D.
A cremated pelvis dating from the first century A.D. showed evidence of osteosclerotic metastasis, presumably secondary to prostate carcinoma. The case demonstrates the importance of microradiography in palaeopathology as well as some of the structural changes seen in cremated bone.
Bone Neoplasms↗
Identifying chop marks on cremated bone: a preliminary study.
The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the effects of burning on hacking trauma inflicted with a cleaver and to assess the diagnostic potential of cleaver marks exposed to fire. Thirty pig forelimbs (radius and ulna) and 30 beef ribs were each subjected to five blows with a cleaver and five cuts with a knife prior to burning in an outdoor fire. Bones were deliberately agitated to ensure maximum cremation and induce fragmentation. Results indicate that hacking weakens bone, making fire-induced fragmentation more likely at the sites of trauma. Chop marks were easily identified on burned bone, their characteristics largely unaffected by cremation.
Animals↗
[Cremation. A public health chapter in Mexico].
Cremation was a part of the funeral ceremony in prehispanic Mexico. When the Spanish conquerors came, this practice was prohibited. In 1877, the Uppu Health Council authorized animal incineration to avoid consumption by indigents or transformation in putrid emanation. Creamation was welcome in Mexico because of the knowledge of hygienic at the time, whose adepts had evaluated toxic exhalations of cadavers and the cemeteries of Mexico City, with incomplete destruction of the cadaver and filtration of contaminants into the subsoil. Three were the reasons against cremation; religious beliefs, lawmaker medical preoccupation with the disappearance of legal evidence, and the newly born science of anthropology, with loss of material for laboratory. The first crematorium was inaugurated by Dr. Eduardo Liceaga in February 1909 in the Dolores Cemetery.
History, 19th Century↗
Incremental lines in prehistoric cremated teeth. A technical note.
Incremental lines have been examined in cementum of modern human teeth. Their number is related to age. These lines are demonstrated in cremated teeth too and offer an additional feature for age determination in cremations.
Age Determination by Teeth↗
Cremation (Scotland) regulations 1935 (as amended) Form B--certificate of medical attendant Form C--confirmatory medical certificate.
It is important that doctors completing Forms B and C are fully aware of their statutory duties and responsibilities as laid down in the relevant cremation regulations. These forms should only be completed when the doctors concerned are confident that the information they are providing is true and accurate and that they have no reasonable cause to suspect that the decreased died either a violent or an unnatural death, or a sudden death of which the cause is unknown, or died in such a place or circumstances as to make further inquiry desirable before cremation. It should also be noted that medical referees have the statutory right to reject forms which are incomplete, or improperly completed.
Cause of Death↗
The anthropometry of contemporary commercial cremation.
This study establishes baseline parameters and examines those variables thought to influence cremains weights. Data were collected during the cremation of 100 individuals. A series of measurements was taken to determine relative skeletal robusticity. The weight, stature, sex, and age of each cadaver was recorded prior to cremation. The average cremains weight for the fully developed adults (n = 91) was 2430 g and ranged from 876 g to 3784 g. Male and female means were separated by 1053 g, but there was considerable overlap in the distribution. All cremains weights above 2750 g were male and all cremains weights below 1887 g were female. Five amputees and one long bone donor produced cremains weights below the means for their respective groups, reflecting the relative contribution of the thick cortical bone of the limbs to total skeletal weight, and thus to total cremains weight. Cremains weight represented approximately 3.5% of total body weight in adults, 2.5% of total body weight in children, and approximately 1% of total body weight in fetuses. The most accurate predictor of cremains weight was cadaver stature (r = .8473; p < .01). Calculated skeletal weight was also highly correlated with cremains weight (r = .7986; p < .01). Cadaveric weight was least correlated with cremains weight (r = .5470; p < .01). Regression formulae were calculated for each of the variables.
Adolescent↗