Korean J Phys Anthropol.
2012 Mar;25(1):1-10.
TEM Observation on the Weathering Human Scalp Hair after Burial
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Funeral Science, College of Health Industry, Eulji University, Korea.
- 2Department of Anatomy, Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy, College of Medicine, Catholic University, Korea.
- 3Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Health Science, Eulji University, Korea.
- 4Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Korea. paikdj@hanyang.ac.kr
Abstract
- This study was undertaken to investigate the morphological changes of scalp hair according to weathering after burial and to offer basic data for forensic science. To examine the effect of weathering degree, the 51 human scalp hairs buried after death were taken from deceased individuals in tombs in Korea. The morphological changes in weathering hair shafts of the scalp were investigated using the transmission electron microscopes (TEM). There were little morphological differences of weathering depending on the burial period. The weathering changes includes detachment of cuticle layer, aggregation of macrofibril and hollow formation in the cortex according to the burial period. These results could provide basic data to the field of forensic medicine.
