Hassan's Story - a&P Case Study
Unit 5 Case Study 1: Hassan’s Story
Question A: Baru is using surface markings to identify the gender of a skull. What two major types of surface marking do bones have?
Answer: Bone surface markings consist of a) Depressions and openings and b) Processes. Depressions and openings are areas that form joints or areas that allow passage of soft tissue, such as nerves, blood vessels, ligaments and tendons. Processes are projections or outgrowths on bone that form joints or attachment points for connective tissue, such as ligaments and tendons.
Question B: Why are Liu and Hassan surprised to find a metopic suture on an adult skull? In which skull bone to metopic sutures occur?
Answer: Soon after birth the right and left sides of the frontal bone are united by the metopic suture. Normally the metopic suture disappears between the ages of six and eight, so finding one on an adult skull would be surprising.
Question C: What delicate skeletal structures are found inside the nasal cavity that might be missing from and excavated skull?
Answer: Skeletal structures inside the nasal cavity that could be missing from an excavated skull would be septal cartilage, the vomer, the inferior nasal conchae and the perpendicular plate.
Question D: How would Hassan and his team be able to tell the ages of the skeletal remains of the woman and the baby?
Answer: Age can be estimated by examining the vertebral column. Average length for an adult female is around 24 inches; in an adult male it is approximately 28 inches. The total number of vertebrae can also help determine age. During early development there are 33 total vertebrae. This number decreases as people age because the 5 sacral vertebrae as well as the 4 coccygeal vertebrae begin to fuse together. Fusion of the sacral vertebrae begins between the ages of 16 and 18 and is usually completed by age 30. The coccygeal vertebrae fuse when a person is between the age of 20 and 30.
Question E: What features of
Question A: Baru is using surface markings to identify the gender of a skull. What two major types of surface marking do bones have?
Answer: Bone surface markings consist of a) Depressions and openings and b) Processes. Depressions and openings are areas that form joints or areas that allow passage of soft tissue, such as nerves, blood vessels, ligaments and tendons. Processes are projections or outgrowths on bone that form joints or attachment points for connective tissue, such as ligaments and tendons.
Question B: Why are Liu and Hassan surprised to find a metopic suture on an adult skull? In which skull bone to metopic sutures occur?
Answer: Soon after birth the right and left sides of the frontal bone are united by the metopic suture. Normally the metopic suture disappears between the ages of six and eight, so finding one on an adult skull would be surprising.
Question C: What delicate skeletal structures are found inside the nasal cavity that might be missing from and excavated skull?
Answer: Skeletal structures inside the nasal cavity that could be missing from an excavated skull would be septal cartilage, the vomer, the inferior nasal conchae and the perpendicular plate.
Question D: How would Hassan and his team be able to tell the ages of the skeletal remains of the woman and the baby?
Answer: Age can be estimated by examining the vertebral column. Average length for an adult female is around 24 inches; in an adult male it is approximately 28 inches. The total number of vertebrae can also help determine age. During early development there are 33 total vertebrae. This number decreases as people age because the 5 sacral vertebrae as well as the 4 coccygeal vertebrae begin to fuse together. Fusion of the sacral vertebrae begins between the ages of 16 and 18 and is usually completed by age 30. The coccygeal vertebrae fuse when a person is between the age of 20 and 30.
Question E: What features of