The Fractography of Bone: Impact of Flat Bone and the Story It Tells

Fractography as a method for fracture analysis has been applied widely to materials that range from glass to ceramics and polymers of varying compositions. Very limited research has been done, however, to apply this knowledge of fractography and fracture patterns to bone. With the goal of telling the story of how a bone was broken, this research focuses on observing known patterns of fracture in polymers, and applying these patterns to bone. For the purposes of this research, porcine scapulae were acquired, dissected from surrounding tissue, and broken using a standardized weight drop at varying heights. The fractured bone was then dried in an oven for a day in order to evaporate out excess fluid. Once dried, a stereoscopic microscope was used to analyze the fracture itself by applying known microscopic fracture markings from polymers to the bone. These markings, in particular, help to tell the story of where the fracture initially began and where the bone itself was impacted. The findings of this research have implications for continued research in both forensic and medical fields. By solidifying an investigative procedure for retroactively analyzing a bone fracture, the ability to determine where a bone was hit and with what type of force could be beneficial to a range of scientific disciplines.