Ripper Anatomy Class

[protohistorian]

M2 neck (head trophy)

We begin by examining M2 neck wounds. They are described by Dr. Phillips as in part as,"The throat had been severed. The incisions of the skin indicated that they had been made from the left side of the neck on a line with the angle of the jaw, carried entirely round and again in front of the neck, and ending at a point about midway between the jaw and the sternum or breast bone on the right hand. There were two distinct clean cuts on the body of the vertebrae on the left side of the spine. They were parallel to each other, and separated by about half an inch. The muscular structures between the side processes of bone of the vertebrae had an appearance as if an attempt had been made to separate the bones of the neck."

When diagrammed it becomes clear that this describes a unidirectional wound type with the axis of damage running from the top left of the diagram to the vertebral body. Phillips describes hard tissue damage that indicates (to his mind) an attempt at severance of the head from the torso. Dave

[protohistorian]

M5 neck (head trophy)

Described by Dr. Bond as, " The neck was cut through the skin & other tissues right down to the vertebrae the 5th & 6th being deeply notched." Since he does not give parameters for for where the wound is, I believe he has described the wound in it's entirety, to his satisfaction. If this is so, it yields something like the diagram below and represents a multi directional attempt on head severance. Dave

[belinda]

This is wonderful I never stick my neck out for nothing

[protohistorian]

Thank You Belinda! One thing about my stroke is it really confined the ways I can successfully process data. So this is my attempt at getting a handle on the injuries. It is nice to know I am not moving down a dysfunctional and useless alley however. I am glad people find it helpful, I did too! Dave

[protohistorian]

another question for the pros

We have covered the jagged nature of a wound being an indicator of knife sharpness, what about wound morphology indicates blade length? Dave

[Scott Nelson]

Correlation would be too difficult. Especially with the random nature of the wounds -- ie., double or triple cuts to same area....

Sorry, don't mind me... blah blah blah

[Mattis]

Hi!

I don´t know if someone already have posted this. But here are some PDF documents abut the Whitechapel murder victims neck wounds, practical pathology in the 19th century and forensic medicine in the 19th century.

Some of the documents are copyright Karyo Magellan and the documents about forensic medicine and practical pathology was written by J. DIXON MANN, M.D., F.R.C.P., and G. SIMS WOODHEAD, M.D., F.R.C.P.ED. Of course some of them are dead now but i still feel they deserve the credit!


Enjoy! And hope they are helpfull!

Yours truly/ Mattis

[protohistorian]

Thank You Mattis! I am wrestling maps and the Old Bailey Online just now, but these have been moved to the top of the pile for reading! Dave

[Mattis]

Great! They are a very good read!

[protohistorian]

Whitehall head severance

Described by Dr. Bond as, "The sixth cervical vertebra had been sawn through in removing the head from the trunk." and the image. Dave

[protohistorian]

whitehall lower torso

Described by Dr. Bond as, "The lower limbs and pelvis had been removed, and the four lumbar vertebrae had been sawn through by a series of long, sweeping cuts. " and the image, with the vertebra marked 4 being the 4th Lumbar. Dave

[protohistorian]

Whitehall limb removal

The first image is a contemporary press clipping showing a rendition of the torso. Of note in this image are the arm stubs.

We now turn to the medical description of arm removal as described by Dr. Bond, "The arms had been removed at the shoulder joints by several incisions, the cuts having apparently been made obliquely from above downwards, and then around the arm."

The next image shows the most efficient path (in blue) with and obligatory deviation (in red) to separate the joint proper.

This selection of paths is based on this comment from Dr. Hibberd,"The arm had apparently been separated after death.
[Coroner]Did the arm seem to have been separated easily? - The operation was performed by a person who knew what he was doing - not by an anatomist, but by a person who knew the joints. "

Dave

[protohistorian]

whitehall torso

Mary Kelly gets a lot of play as being done wrong, and she was. Why does this victim get no play? Red lines are points of severance. Dave

[Garza]

Great thread btw dave!

Out of interest do you have the medical name for the "pressure marks" on Stride's shoulders, I tried to find it but couldn't, they were not bruises. Also wondering if anyone as made a drawing of the area of these pressure marks?

[protohistorian]

I believe the modern vernacular is hemetoma. The vicorian nomenclature seems to be a less than defined thing. Dave