Hassan Story

A. Baru is using surface markings to identify the gender of a skull. What two major types of surface markings do bones have? Surface markings that occur on bone are depression and openings; these markings upon bones are what allow soft tissues or joint formations to be present in order to supply nutrients to bone and give the body movement. The other surface marking is process; which are the projections or outgrowths of that bone the gives an attachment of that bone to the connective tissue or help form joints. B. Why are Liu and Hassan surprised to find a metopic suture on an adult skull? In which skull bone do metopic sutures occur? A metopic suture is found in children, but to be more specific from birth and disappears at the age of six to eight. This is what is often referred to the soft spot of an infant. In children the metopic suture is located within the frontal bone. C. What delicate skeletal structures are found inside the nasal cavity that might be missing from an excavated skull? There are several bones that are within the nasal cavity – sphenoid bone, nasal bone, palatine bones, lacrimal bones, vomer and the perpendicular plate of ethmoid bone. The lacrimal bones are the smallest bones of the face which would make this bone easy to deteriorate due to its size alone. The perpendicular plate of the ethmoid bone that also connects to the vomer bone are only attached to other bones that are perpendicular no lateral connection to bones. D. How would Hassan and his team be able to tell the age of the skeletal remains of the woman and the baby? One way of being able to determine age of the remains would be being able to determine if the sacral and coccygeal regions are fused. Determining at what stage fusing is would enable them to discern what an approximate age is. The other area of vertebra that can be examined is the nucleus pulposus. As one ages this area of the vertebra hardens. E. What features of the vertebral column

Cited: Jenkins, G., Kemnitz, C., & Tortora, G. (2007). Anatomy and Physiology: From Science to Life. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.