The rugoscopy It is the study of palatal rugas for the identification of an individual. Palatal ridges (rugas) are the transverse ridges or elevations located in the anterior third of the hard palate, behind the upper teeth and the incisive papilla. They are the irregularities that are felt with the tip of the tongue in the roof of the mouth.
Numerous studies place its first description in the year 1732. Jacob B. Winslow, a Danish-born but naturalized French anatomist, gives a detailed explanation of palatal rugas in his work Exposition anatomique de la structure du corps humain, in which it hints at the possibility of identifying corpses by analyzing said structures.
However, it was more than a century and a half later that Allen (1889) and Kuppler (1897), in separate essays, formally proposed the possibility of identifying racial groups and individuals by studying the anatomy of the hard palate. Years later, rugoscopy would be accepted as a forensic identification method together with date and odontoscopy..
At present, the use of rugoscopy is universally accepted and has been fundamental in the resolution of criminal cases, especially in those involving corpses or bodies with massive anatomical damage. Forensics jokingly comment that "fingerprints are burned, teeth and palate not".
Article index
The first publications of Winslow already talk about the unique characteristics of palatal rugas between different individuals. Decades of studies have confirmed this idea.
The bones that make up the hard palate - Maxillary and Palatine - have a particular rough surface on their underside, covered by a mucosa rich in collagen.
Collagen fibers are accompanied by adipose tissue and other structures that give it its own shape and structural support. A specific type of hydrophilic glycosaminoglycans goes hand in hand with collagen fibers and gives them a different direction to each one, which ends up drawing a unique pattern of palatal lines for each individual..
Palatine wrinkles form between weeks 12 and 14 of intrauterine life. They take a little longer than fingerprints to appear. Once fully developed, they remain unchanged for the rest of life and even remain unchanged long after death.
One advantage of rugoscopy is that the hard palate is protected by its anatomical location. Laterally the cheeks provide protection and cushioning.
In front are the lips and teeth, which offer a very hard shield and difficult to cross. Finally it has the tongue underneath, a resistant muscle that prevents its traumatic damage.
All the above conditions offer rugoscopy 4 fundamental characteristics as an identification method:
Being unrepeatable, only an individual can have a certain specific pattern.
It never changes its shape or its position even when subjected to violent compressive actions, intentional or not..
Even in identical twins it presents notable differences.
Or perpetuity. It is the same before the person is born and after the death..
Identification of an individual through rugoscopy requires prior recognition. The first dental and palatal records were carried out through impression with moldable material. Initially wax and rubber were used, then alginate and today silicone is used.
Another possibility is the radiological record. Most patients who undergo dental procedures undergo imaging studies, be it a simple X-ray, a CT scan, or an MRI. All of these are helpful in recognizing palatal rugas and classifying them..
There are several described classifications of palatal rugas, including:
It is one of the most recognized classifications by forensic doctors and dentists, being accepted in litigation and criminal trials. Classify the wrinkles in:
- Point (A1)
- Straight (B2)
- Angle (C3)
- Winding (D4)
- Curve (E5)
- Circle (F6)
The combination of two or more of these produces the polymorphic types.
- Ye (ancient Y Greek)
- Chalice
- Racket
- Branch
It uses the same simple Basauri types, but only assigns them a number. Compound ruga are formed with the union of the simple ones, whose identification code will be the sum of the numbers of each simple ruga that composes it..
Classify the wrinkles according to their length, direction and unification.
- Main creases> 5 mm
- Accessory wrinkles between 3 and 4 mm
- Fragmentary Rugas < 3 mm
- Forward
- Backward
- Perpendicular
- Convergent: different origins in the middle raphe with final union.
- Divergent: same origin at the middle raphe with final separation.
It is very similar to Da Silva's classification, substituting the numbers for the first 6 letters of the alphabet. Those closest to the midline of the palate are identified with the capital letter and the furthest in lowercase. Compound rugas are identified by a letter X.
As mentioned in the previous sections, the main use of rugoscopy is the identification of people. Although it is usual for the individuals to be identified to have died, sometimes roughoscopy is an alternative to recognize criminals, lost people with Alzheimer's or disoriented psychiatric patients.
In catastrophic situations with massive deaths, rugoscopy has proven useful. This method is especially relevant when the corpses have suffered significant damage to their anatomy and classical identification procedures are useless. Its application in air accidents and floods has already been successful.
Forensic dentistry - a specialty that deals with rugoscopic studies - is already accepted as a vital instrument in criminal cases.
There are few cases in which the findings of this instrument have decided trials and helped to convict criminals. It is recommended to keep strict dental records around the world because of this..
Yet No Comments