FORENSICS

  • Learning Modules
    • Age Estimation
    • Ancestry
      • Ancestry: Cranium
      • Ancestry: Dentition
    • Sex Determination
    • Pathology
    • Stature Estimation
    • Taphonomy
      • Animal Activity
      • Burial Damage
      • Fire Damage
      • Mineral Absorption
      • Weathering
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FACT

a statement about a phenomenon that is objectively verified, and thus, considered to be true

FAUNA

animals

FEMUR

the thigh bone

FETAL

stage in human development that lasts between 10 weeks after conception until birth

FIBULA

lateral (outer) bone of the lower leg

FLEXION

the movement that results in the angle between skeletal elements getting smaller. Different muscles act to flex or extend different skeletal elements. See also extension

FLORA

plants

FORAMEN

a hole or opening in a tissue, such as bone; usually accommodates the passage of a blood vessel or a nerve

FORAMEN MAGNUM

the large hole in the occipital bone that allows for the passage of the spinal cord to the brain. The placement of the foramen magnum in the skull is an indication of bipedal or quadrupedal behavior

FOSSIL

formed when hard elements of a skeleton, such as shells, teeth and bones, are quickly buried by sand or mud. Over the thousands or millions of years these elements are buried, the organic components of the skeleton are replaced with minerals. The transition from bone to stone forms a fossil.

FRACTURE

a break or crack in a bone or cartilage

FRANKFORT PLANE

a plane defined by the most inferior points on the anterior margins of the left orbit and the middle points of the upper part of the left and right external auditory meatus (porion); also called the Plane of Virchow.

FRONTAL

the forehead

FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY

the study of the relationship between an organism’s lifestyle and its anatomy

Acknowledgements

Department of anthropology

University of Texas at Austin

Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services

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