title: Lumbosacral transitional vertebra: clinical and forensic implications.
abstract: The identification of skeletal remains is one of the classic problems faced by forensic experts. Congenital and acquired malformations can prove to be an important tool for identification, provided antemortem records are available. A lumbosacral transitional vertebra is one such rare congenital anomaly that has clinical and medicolegal implications. We report a case of unilateral lumbosacral transitional vertebra, detected during medicolegal examination of skeletal remains that were recovered from a forested area in coastal Karnataka, India. The congenital anomaly of the transitional vertebra helped in the forensic identification of the deceased.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore 575001, India. tanujkanchan@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanchan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Nagesh
authors.forename: R G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Menezes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton; D003792:Dental Records; D003817:Dentition; D018732:Forensic Anthropology / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000473:pathology*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D012447:Sacrum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*