ABSTRACT
Class characteristics distinguish bitemarks from other patterned injuries. Rectangular (incisors and laterals) and circular/oval (canines) contusions and/or
indentations are aligned to form round to oval opposing patterns representing maxillary and mandibular tooth arrangements in the human (Figure 18.1). The size, arrangement, and overall diameter distinguish adult from child dentitions. Thus, the class characteristic
18.1 Introduction 241 18.2 Factors Affecting Bitemark Dynamics 242 18.3 Alive Recipient of the Bitemark 243
18.3.1 Child 244 18.3.2 Adult 245 18.3.3 Specialized Hospital Centers 246
18.4 Recipient of the Bitemark in the Twilight Zone 247 18.5 Deceased Recipient of the Bitemark 247 18.6 Bitemark Distortions 248 18.7 Hair 248 18.8 Orifices 249 18.9 Amputation/Avulsion 251 18.10 Foreign Objects 253 18.11 Dentition 253 18.12 Immobile Tissue 259 18.13 Bite Overlap 259 18.14 Pigmentation 260 18.15 Photographic Perspectives 261 18.16 Healing and Old Bitemarks 263 18.17 Antemortem Bitemarks 264 18.18 Postmortem Trauma 266 18.19 Clothing 268 18.20 Tissue Preservation 269 18.21 Self-Inflicted Bitemarks 269 18.22 Multiple Bitemarks 270 18.23 Muscle 271 18.24 Digits 272 18.25 DNA 272 18.26 New Evidence 272 18.27 Blunt Trauma Injury 273 18.28 In the Presence of Other Trauma 273 18.29 Single Arch Bite 273 18.30 Circumferential versus Linear Distance 274 18.31 Erectile Tissue 275 18.32 External Pressure Bitemark 275 18.33 Positional Changes 275 18.34 Opposite Sides 276 18.35 One-Sided Bite 276 References 281
identifies the group from which it originates: human, animal, fish, or other species.
