ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Published Online: 1 March 2005
Page Count: 7

Ear Piercing Affects Earprints: The Role of Ear Piercing in Human Identification
Abbas, A
Undergraduate Student, Forensic Pathology Unit, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary,

Rutty, GN
Professor of Forensic Pathology and Head of Academic Unit, Forensic Pathology Unit, University of Leicester, Robert Kilpatrick Building, Leicester Royal Infirmary,

(Received 8 November 2003; accepted 19 September 2004)

Abstract

Previous research conducted into the use of the human ear in the fizeld of forensic identification has focused upon the use of grids and manual methods to measure and catalogue the different anatomical features of the ear. To date, few have considered the importance of the presence of ear piercings and their possible role in human identification. This study aims to highlight the common distribution of piercings of both ears in both genders and to explore the effect of piercings on earprints. The presence of a piercing may, in part, help to explain why partial and not whole earprints are sometimes recovered from a scene of crime (suggesting that the offender's ears may be pierced). The presence of piercings through the tragus and the superior part of the helix are shown to be infrequent and thus may be used to assist the identification of a body, due to its relative rarity with respect to piercings found in other areas of the ear.

Keywords:
forensic science, ear piercing, earprint, human identification

Paper ID: JFS2003374
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2003374
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