131 - Prevalence of Bone Damage in Human Anatomy Departmental Osteology Collection

Poster Board Number: 131
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Addison Jackon - Pathology, Anatomy, and Laboratory Medicine - West Virginia University; Matthew Zdilla - West Virginia University; David Rasicci - West Virginia University School of Medicine

Abstract Body : Osteology forms the foundation for vertebrate anatomy and thus is a critical component of the diverse fields of health care, veterinary medicine, anthropology, and paleontology. Various entities house osteology collections including university departments, research laboratories, and museums. In particular, human anatomy labs are fast-paced teaching environments in which anatomists work with a large volume of students. Accordingly, osteology collections are heavily utilized and unfortunately, the bones often incur damage. Thus, the goal of the project is to document the status of the osteology collection within the Anatomy Division at the West Virginia University School of Medicine to record the prevalence of damage of various bony landmarks in our disarticulated bones. Specific bony landmarks were investigated, based upon anatomists’ experience. In the crania, styloid processes of the temporal bone (120:140; 85.5%), lamina papyracea (115:140; 82%) and cribriform plates (77:140; 55%) of the ethmoid bone, and the vomer (35:7; 50%) had the highest incidence of damage. Beyond crania, the prevalence of damage of bones of the appendicular skeleton, including scapulae, humerii, radii, ulnae, ossa coxae, etc., also were recorded. Anatomy educators and curators of osteological collections may utilize this information to convey the importance of careful handling of bones, particularly skulls, with an emphasis on frequently damaged landmarks. These findings may be extrapolated to fields of anthropology, archaeology, and taphonomy, where there are implications in long-term preservation of bones. Future directions may involve collaborations with other departments, institutions, and museums who are interested in recording the prevalence of damage in their collection.