Backward and forward : the Gurdjian theory and blunt force impact of the human skull

Even though trauma to bone has been an area of keen interest in medicine for decades, forensic anthropology's treatment of blunt force trauma is a fairly new area of research. Correct fracture pattern analysis can provide information concerning number, direction, and order of blows (Berryman and Symes 1999). E.S. Gurdjian (1945, 1947, 1950a, 1950b) conducted a number of studies on blunt force fracture propagation that are still heavily used today. Gurdjian proposed that applying a brittle substance known as "stresscoat'' to the cranial bone surface would replicate impact stresses. Using stresscoat research, Gurdjian characterized blunt force trauma fracture patterns for the skull. Fractures were noted to initiate in an area other than the point of impact, radiating towards it. The fields of forensic anthropology and pathology rely heavily on the predictions made by Gurdjian et al and commonly cite this research in the literature. In fracture patterns interpretation, Gurdjian's results are often used to suggest that the point of impact is at a location other than the fracture epicenter. This study is a systematic examination and retesting of the theories of fracture propagation as set forth by ES Gurdjian and colleagues using current biomechanics research and technology. Specifically, the relationship of impact site and fracture patterning was tested using five cadaver heads. The results from all five tests show that fractures radiate directly from the point of impact. In conclusion, the fracture pattern predictions made by Gurdjian and colleagues from the stresscoat results cannot be extrapolated to fresh cadaveric bone.