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A Method to Preserve Wetland Roots and Rhizospheres for Elemental Imaging

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Study of Root Transparency in Different Postmortem Intervals Using Scanning Electron Microscopy.

Elodie Marchand^1,2, Benoit Bertrand^1,3, Valéry Hedouin¹

¹Unité de Taphonomie Médico-Légale et Anatomie, ULR 7367, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Lille, 59000 Lille, France.

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|September 9, 2023

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Structural changes in sclerotic dentin reveal postmortem interval (PMI) variations. These tooth modifications, observed via scanning electron microscopy, aid in estimating time since death for forensic and archaeological cases.

Keywords:

estimated age at death forensic science postmortem changes root transparency scanning electron microscopy sclerotic dentin taphonomy

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Area of Science:

Forensic Anthropology
Dental Forensics
Paleopathology

Background:

Accurate age estimation is crucial for human remains identification in forensics.
Root dentin transparency is a common method for age estimation in adult teeth.
Dentin transparency's reliability is questioned in archaeological contexts due to inconsistency.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate structural modifications in sclerotic dentin across varying postmortem intervals (PMIs).
To assess the utility of sclerotic dentin analysis for estimating time since death in forensic and archaeological samples.

Main Methods:

Analysis of 21 human monoradicular teeth with PMIs of 0, 1, 2, and 5 years, plus archaeological samples.
Sample preparation included resin inclusion, sectioning, and polishing.
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis for structural and chemical assessment.

Main Results:

SEM revealed distinct tubular modifications with increasing PMI, including loss of peritubular collars and lumen obstruction by hyperdense material.
EDX microanalysis showed variations in phosphocalcic ratios across different PMIs, particularly in pulp and canine regions.
Observed changes suggest postmortem alterations to the mineral phase of sclerotic dentin.

Conclusions:

Sclerotic dentin exhibits structural and chemical changes correlated with postmortem interval.
These modifications offer potential for improving age estimation in forensic and archaeological human remains.
Chemical and/or bacterial actions are hypothesized to drive postmortem changes in sclerotic dentin.