Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology

Living Edition

Imaging Techniques in Bone Analysis

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51726-1_157-2
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Introduction

The main medical radiological imaging techniques used for forensic examination of skeletal material may be summarized as follows:

  • Radiography: The term radiography is generally used to describe a static or “still” two-dimensional image produced by means of a single exposure to X-rays (an energy form of ionizing radiation). Such images are now usually recorded and stored digitally but were previously recorded photographically on X-ray film.

  • Fluoroscopy: The term fluoroscopy is used to describe a two-dimensional image directly visualized in real-time motion produced by a continuous exposure to X-rays.

  • Tomography: Tomography employs a moving X-ray tube and image receptor to create an image of a plane or “slice” within an object. Originally developed in the 1930s to overcome the limitations of radiography as a two-dimensional imaging method, the application of digital detectors and computer science led to the development of:

  • Computed Axial Tomography: CAT or CT scanning...

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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Bioarchaology Research InstituteQuinnipiac UniversityMount CarmelUSA
  2. 2.Cranfield Forensic InstituteCranfield UniversityShrivenhamUK
  3. 3.Institute of DentistryBarts & The London School of Medicine & Dentistry, Queen Mary University of LondonLondonUK

Section editors and affiliations

  • Soren Blau
    • 1
  • Luis Fondebrider
    • 2
  • Douglas H. Ubelaker
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of Forensic MedicineVictorian Institute of Forensic Medicine / Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
  2. 2.The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense, EAAF)Buenos AiresArgentina
  3. 3.National Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonUSA