National Forensic Doctor

Chapter 1348: Chapter 1274: Pinpointed to the Individual

Without the skull’s front, only the side and top of the skull, what use could it possibly have?

Naturally, it is extremely useful. For instance, if we restore the side and top of the skull and find that it’s a flat head, doesn’t that narrow down the deceased’s place of birth and origin?

Similarly, when analyzing a skull in Malaysia, even if the front is severely damaged, the other three sides along with the remaining front bones can first be used to distinguish race.

The main ethnic groups in Malaysia are Malays, Chinese, and Indians, along with a small number of indigenous people.

In terms of skull morphology alone, Malays have the lowest skull cap, followed by Chinese, Indians have the highest, and indigenous people’s are low and flat. The orbits are also different; Malays have rounded orbits with blunted rims, Chinese have square-round ones with sharper rims, Indians have round orbits with sharp upper rims...

All these factors, including cheekbones, brow ridges, teeth, etc., have statistical differences among different races. These are not easily destroyed in a beating from the perpetrator, though some are useful and some are not.

For instance, in terms of teeth, Chinese have a high rate of cavities, while Malays have more wear on the facial side of the teeth due to betel nut chewing...

In summary, to a forensic anthropologist, a person’s life is ultimately condensed in their bones.

Not everyone keeps a diary, but everyone’s skeleton is their diary.

Jiang Yuan examined one bone after another, occasionally making some notes, without rushing to any conclusions.

If there is only one piece or a small amount of bone, then any conclusion will often include prefixes like "or," "maybe," "possibly."

Of course, a full set of bones is also possible. To get precise conclusions, it often requires the owner of the bones to have been very cooperative in life, doing things few do, contracting illnesses few get, suffering injuries few endure... It’s an enormous effort to speak after death, through the voice of a forensic anthropologist, to tell stories only a few can tell.

Otherwise, even if a full set of bones is left behind, it’s merely the bones of an ordinary person.

Jacob and others quickly fished out all the bones from the pot, cleaned them, laid them on the dissection table, and considerately arranged them in anatomical order for Jiang Yuan to examine conveniently.

Then Jacob eagerly looked at Jiang Yuan, waiting for any task where he could be of use.

To be fair, Jacob was also a highly skilled forensic doctor, with his expertise in forensic pathology at least at a mid-Level 3 or higher.

But he hadn’t had the chance to learn forensic anthropology, this golden-level skill, when he was young, and there were even fewer opportunities as he reached middle age. At least, domestic forensic doctors wouldn’t teach him, and he was embarrassed to follow and learn.

But Jiang Yuan’s forensic anthropology, exceeding the level of ordinary experts, was almost the top tier Jacob could access.

Jacob hoped to follow Jiang Yuan and study his work thoroughly, aiming to achieve something.

At that moment, Jiang Yuan set aside the bone in his hand, turned, and asked, "What does the DNA report say, is it a Chinese and Malay mixed race?"

"Yes, huh, you can tell that?" Jacob fantasized that Jiang Yuan would pick up a bone and describe the occupational wear or metabolic diseases the deceased suffered, but he was taken aback by the mixed-race judgment right from the start.

This is much harder than determining a single race. Determining a single race has foundational research support, whereas a mix like Chinese and Malay is most likely only found in Malaysia, so it shouldn’t be something a Chinese forensic doctor could deduce. It would be more valid if said by a local Malaysian forensic expert.

Jiang Yuan only uttered a "hmm" and said, "The deceased’s nasion point is medium-low, the width of the pyriform aperture is between Chinese females and Malays. Additionally, the subpubic angle is 95 degrees, the sacral shape leans towards the short, broad Malay type, but the sciatic notch is closer to Chinese... Initially judged, East Asian Han genes account for about 60%, and Malay genes about 40%, so they should be local to Malaysia, no longer first-generation mixed race."

Jacob turned around, silently took out the DNA identification report, quickly flipped to the racial identification section, then looked up at Jiang Yuan, suddenly feeling a bit sorry for him.

If this were 20 years ago, when DNA technology was immature, just this racial judgment from Jiang Yuan would have swept through the multi-racial United States, not just earned him the title "God Jiang."

"Biologically speaking. Female, 35 years old, height 162 centimeters, no pelvic deformation, no childbirth history. Right clavicle old fracture, healed about 6 years ago."

Jiang Yuan didn’t look through the other bones again, just started outputting directly.

Jacob and the forensic doctor beside him hurriedly switched on their recorders, simultaneously starting to take notes.

Jiang Yuan waited for a moment, then continued, "The deceased’s lower limb bones show stress changes, with posterior femoral cortical thickening, and increased bone surface roughness. The articular surface of the talus has asymmetric wear. Additionally, there is severe knee joint damage, meniscus is significantly worn, indicating long-term meniscal damage, secondary osteoarthritis. There’s also lumbar spine L4 transverse process hyperostosis..."

Jiang Yuan rattled off a slew of technical terms, making Jacob and the other forensic doctors’ wrists sore from writing.

"What conclusions can be drawn from the above?" Jiang Yuan finished speaking and, as if he were back in his homeland, subconsciously asked the question.

Jacob didn’t find anything wrong with this, and replied thoughtfully, "A lot of sports injuries, suggesting the victim enjoyed sports?"

The forensic doctor nearby added, "And it’s more than just a general interest in sports, it should be long-term training, at least at the level of an experienced enthusiast."

"What sport?" Jiang Yuan then continued to ask. noveldrama

Jacob hesitated for a moment and said, "With posterior femoral cortical thickening, and changes in the knee and lumbar spine... Biking? Cycling sports?"

"For cycling, reaching this level would generally involve ischial tuberosity bursitis." Jiang Yuan dismissed the idea without thinking.

Jacob was taken aback and quickly made a note.

By this point, it was already somewhat like an internal medicine diagnosis.

You know the symptoms, and you’re trying to infer the cause; there are some matches, but in reality, today’s case isn’t something clearly stated on a test paper. A real-world skeleton will have many manifestations, and considering all these manifestations comprehensively often isn’t a simple matching problem.

Some manifestations might even just be distractions.

For Jacob and his colleagues, who had been working for many years, the main aspects used in forensic anthropology were usually determining gender, estimating height, and looking for obvious medical traces.

Judging occupation or hobbies based on skeletal stress changes is akin to a comprehensive question in forensic anthropology LV2, with just the question stem already challenging them.

For example, when Jiang Yuan said "posterior femoral cortical thickening, increased bone surface roughness," that statement itself is not simple.

The reasons for increased bone surface roughness are numerous; anyone boiled down can have some rough bone surfaces found. The question is, how rough is considered rough? Bones in different positions, even bones of people of different races, vary in roughness. Additionally, some internal diseases need to be ruled out.

On the other hand, most rough bone surfaces have no meaningful significance, while Jiang Yuan brought it up specifically in conjunction with "posterior femoral cortical thickening," indicating Jiang Yuan already had a direction in mind - Jacob had no such train of thought whatsoever.

Jiang Yuan didn’t really intend for Jacob to answer; he noticed their interest and conveniently shared his thought process. If they were eager to follow Jiang Yuan’s line of thinking, to reflect and catch up later, they might gain something; if they weren’t interested, then it was merely a self-questioning and answering process.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan took out the few bones he had just mentioned, placed them separately, and said, "I believe that the deceased should have engaged in long-term skiing activities and had a period of intense training. Of course, being in Malaysia, it’s normal not to be familiar with skiing."

A flash of confusion crossed Jacob’s face, and he hurriedly responded, "If it’s long-term training, for an experienced enthusiast, then the local Malaysian ski resorts should not meet such needs, indicating that the deceased likely grew up abroad, or frequently traveled between Malaysia and skiing regions?"

Jiang Yuan said, "From the skeletal condition, she should have been skiing regularly as an adult, at least for several years before death. Oh, and the old fracture on her clavicle is likely due to skiing too."

Jacob exhaled, "So, she’s a woman who travels abroad frequently, often with her destinations being skiing areas. It indicates a very good family background. Additionally, being a Malay-Chinese mixed race, 35 years old, height 162 cm, no childbirth history, and having suffered a severe fracture 6 years ago... I think we can pinpoint the individual!"