ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses common injuries to the skeleton resulting from torture, specifically beatings. It focuses on several case studies which provide practical examples of diagnosing ill-treatment from skeletal remains and timing antemortem fractures that demonstrate chronic abuse over a period of time. The chapter discusses the histological methods for timing fractures. The diagnosis of torture has typically been based on the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of living victims and in some cases on the post-mortem examination of alleged victims. The primary mechanism of injury in cases of torture is blunt force trauma. Rib fractures may occur in all aspects of the thorax and tend to be either transverse, oblique, or buckle. There is no single or predictable pattern of fracturing as it depends on the point of impact. Road traffic accidents are perhaps the foremost cause of thoracic injuries, including rib fractures.
