IDENTIFICATION
DEFINITION- Identif ication means determ ination of indivi duality of a
hich is based on certain feature s or charac teristic s that are unique
person W . . ..
to that person. Thus, identif ication deals with the recogr ution of person . It
is done in living or dead person.
TYPES- Identification may be:
l. Complete- It is also called as absolute identification and refers to the
perfect fixation of indivi dualit y of a person.
2. partial - It is also called as incomplete identification which is only some
characteristics regard ing the identity.
MEDICO-LEGAL IMPORTANCE
I) In Living -
A) Civil cases- Inheri tance of prope rty, pensio n, life insura nce, voting
rights, passport, disput ed identi ty in cases of divorc e or nullity of marria ge,
missing person.
B) Criminal cases- Identi ficatio n of accuse d in crimin al offenses of assault,
murder, sexual offenses, absco nding soldie rs, interc hange of new born
babies in hospital, crimin al aborti on.
11) In Dead - in case of fire, accidents, mutila ted body, decom posed body,
bomb-blast injury, sudde n unexp ected death etc identi ficatio n is requir ed.
T, •
Cou
essence of crime; a finding that prov .
of offence or the . .
h n death was caused by the crur es ille
important w ~
unal act and . 8a1 ¾
ldel'tij~
victim is required.
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11.
IDENTIFICATION DATA- In living and dead both •
Eu
iii.
1. Race and religion
Et
2. Sex
1v
3. Age
h;
4. Teeth
st
5. General development and stature
6. Anthropometric measurements V
7. Fingerprints, lip prints and footprints p
S. External peculiarities, like scar or tattoo
9. Hair
10. Personal effects: clothes, pocket contents, In
living om
handwriting, speech, voice, gait, manner, habit,
memory ~
education
RACE-
Races are populations, which differ in the frequency
of some genes. Tu
population of world is divided into three types of races
namely:
1. Caucasians 2. Mongolians 3. Negro.
The race can be known by:
1. Clothes 2. Complexion 3• Eyes 4. Hairs
. 5. Bone etc.
It is determined by:
i. Clothing:- Traditional I d'
•
n ian dress is different from Wes tern dress.
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(C) Crural Index:
Length of Tibia xl00
Length of Femur
(In Eu!opeans, the average value is 83.3 and in Negroes, 86.2.)
(D) Humero-Femoral Index:
Length of Humerus xJ00
Length of Femur
(In Europeans, the average value is 69 and in Negroes 72.4.)
RELIGION- The important religion of India can be known froll\
peculiarities of their customs.
Hindu male Christian male Muslim male
Hindu males are not Christian male Muslim males are
circumcised, may have wear cross normally circumcised I
sacred thread, necklace necklace, coat and have marks of corns and
of wooden (Rudraksh) pants. rnllosities on lateral
beads, caste marks on aspect of knees and feet
forehead, tuft of hair on due to their posture
back of the head and during prayer.
piercing of ear lobes.
Hindu female Christian female Muslim female
Hindu females put on Christian male wear Muslim females put o
saris, vermilion on head, cross necklace, burka, hijab, no
silver toe ornaments, frocks. vermilion mark, nose
tattoo marks, nose ring nng in the septum
aperture in left nostril several openings on the
and few openings for helix for ear .
rings an d
ear rings along the helix. no tattoo marks.
EX- It is the biological term denoting the genetic, physiologic and
atomical characteristics of an individual, which is categorized in 'males'
d 'females'. It has to be determined in following case such as-
. For the purpose of identification in living or dead .
. For determination of sex of a person when:
• Sex appears ambiguous (doubtful)
• Sex is concealed
3. For deciding cases related to legitimacy, divorce, paternity, affiliation,
heir-ship and also some criminal offences.
4. In case of national or international sports games.
Sign of Sex - It is divided into:
1. Presumptive sign of sex
2. Probable sign of sex
3. Positive sign of sex
t. Presumptive sign of Sex - It is based on external appearance of an
individual considering the general body features and appearance, clothing,
distribution of hairs, habits, voice, inclinations etc.
2. Probable sign of Sex - It is based on assessment of secondary sexual
characteristics such as develop presence of vagina and breasts in females
and penis and scrotal sac in males, distribution of subcutaneous fat,
muscular development etc.
3. Positive sign of Sex -This can be confirms by presence of ovaries in
females and testis in males or presence of Barr bodies and Davidson bodies.
Sex Verification Tests-
a). Physical morphology: External examination is done to determine the
sex shown in following table-
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. . f physical/morphological features
Deternunation of sex rom
Male female
[Link]. Features strong, Less musCUI
Muscular, at,
1 General built .
stout d eI1cate, slenct
er
Short, thick, coarse Long, fine, thin
2 Scalp hair
Present Absent
3 Facial hair
Thick, coarse, Thin, fine
4 Pubic hair I
I
extends upwards horizontal,
with apex at covers mons
umbilicus venens
(rhomboidal) (triangular)
Prominent Less prominent
5 Adam's apple
Broader than hip Narrower than
6 Shoulders
Not developed Developed after
7 Breasts
puberty
Uterus and vagina Absent Present
8
9 Penis Present Absent
10 Gonads Testes Ovaries
I
b). Nuclear sexing or sex chromatin or microscopic test: determination of
sex from study of nucleus in non-dividing cells such as buccal epitheli~
cells or hair follicle cells are examined microscopically to detect the presence
of 'Barr body'.
Barr body is present 20-80% in the female cells. Bar body is single, inactive,
condensed X chromosomes which is present in periphery of nucleus in
somatic cells. A person in which barr body present, is called chromatin
positive. Davidson body also seen in female cells which is drum stick like
structure with dense chromatin head, seen in the lobe of nucleus of
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50
;J I ~ ~ • ➔ st ►tF, >H
polymorphonuclear cells like leukocytes. In male, barr body and David son
body are absent, or present in very few cells less than 5%.
c). Gonadal biopsy: Detection of 'inter nal gonad s and sex chromosomes'
(genotype sex), i.e. the identification of testes and XY sex chrom osom es (in
males), or ovary and XX sex chrom osom es (in females) is a confir mator y
method of determ ining sex.
Sex determination from bones-
1. Skeleton in general
1. Bones larger, heavier and Small, light and tender
broader
2. Muscles marking more Less prominent
rominent
3. Total weight almost 4.5 kg 2.75 kg
0i., 4. All process, articular surfaces Usually smooth
are rough .
--- !ill,,,,...,.,.~ J ; - .,.
ll
2. Skull bone-
Male Female,,
1. Crarual capec1ty 1s 10% more Less
2. Glabella prominent Less prominent
"'1N'IWRl_l'INWIWl-i9'911"11"/WNW"NN'N._ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _
. . , . __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3. Supra-orbital margins prominent Absent
4. Parietal, occipital protubererances, Less prominent
zygomatic arch- more prominent
5. Orbit- rectangular Circular
6. Mastoid- large Small
7. Foramen magnum-large & long Small & round
3. Mandible
2. Skull bone-
Female
Male ).
Less
1. Cranial capecity is 10% more J
2. Glabella prominent Less prominent
3. Supra-orbital margins prominent Absent
4. Parietal, occipital protubererances, Less prominent
z omatic arch- more rominent
5. Orbit- rectangular Circular
6. Mastoid- large Small
7. Foramen magnum-large & long Small & round
3. Mandible
Female
1. Ramus- longer, broader
2. Symphysis menti- large
Small
3. Chin- square, broad. U-shaped
Pointed, V-shaped
4. Angle of mandible- everted
Inverted
5. Myelohyoid line- more prom·1nent
Less
4- Hip-bone
p1•
e vis- narrow & deep
Pub·
r=----~1c symphyseaJ s --:------- Wide h
3. IschiaJ s . urface-long -------=~ '
1
s allow
pine, tuberosity • Smal1 - - - - - - - - ~
4. Obturator for - inverted -----=A-:;-------~
5 - - amen- oval Everted
• Greater sciatic
A notch-nar Triang:u~J~ar_______-/
cetabuJum- Wi row, deep
de, deep Wide, shallow
Srnau, sh:-al::-lo_w_____
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