MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOMECHANICAL STUDY OF 146 HUMAN SKULLS USED IN EXPERIMENTAL IMPACTS IN RELATION WITH THE OBSERVED INJURIES

Biomechanical studies related to the head have been mainly directed towards the determination of cerebral tolerance to impact in the absence of fracture. However, the frequency of skull trauma producing complex fractures and cerebral lesions linked to these fractures should be taken into consideration. On a human being, impacts under similar mechanical conditions can produce either fatal encephalic lesions without fractures or skull fractures with encephalic lesions if the subject has a different skull morphology. A sample of 146 subjects has been studied to determine the relation between the morphological characteristics of the skulls (weight of the skull cap, thickness, weight of the cranial skeleton...), their mineralization. The mechanical tests were performed on bone fragments (bending and shearing tests). Nine accelerometers were used during the experiments of various types of impacts. The results were computerized. The skull fractures observed (a total of 45) are described. An analysis of the results has been made and enables us to make a correlation between the characteristics of the skull and those of the impacts with the type of fractures. For the covering abstract of the conference see HS-036 716. (Author/TRRL)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Twenty-Seventh Stapp Car Crash Conference Proceedings (P-134) with International Research Committee on Biokinetics of Impacts (IRCOBI), San Diego, California, October 17-19, 1983.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Got, C
  • Guillon, F
  • Patel, A
  • Mack, P
  • Brun-Cassan, F
  • Fayon, A
  • Tarriere, C
  • Hureau, J
• Conference:
  • Twenty-Seventh Stapp Car Crash Conference Proceeding (P-134) with International Research Committee on Biokinetics of Impacts (IRCOBI), San Diego, California, October 17-19, 1983.
• Publication Date: 1983

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 241-260

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Biophysics; Bone fractures; Brain; Conferences; Crash tests; Injuries; Injury severity; Morphology; Physiological tolerance; Skull; Skull fractures
• ITRD Terms: 2060: Biomechanics; 2030: Brain; 8525: Conference; 2161: Fracture (bone); 2051: Human tolerance; 1648: Impact test (crash); 2163: Injury; 1623: Severity (accid, injury); 2021: Skull
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00387092
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 831619, HS-036 734
• Files: HSL, ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 30 1984 12:00AM