botstuk

Botstuk is a Dutch noun meaning a piece of bone. Etymologically, it combines bot (bone) and stuk (piece), and it is used to describe any detached fragment of bone, whether from a living person, an animal, or a recovered specimen. In medical language, a botstuk typically refers to a fragment produced by fracture or trauma, or to bone material obtained for biopsy or grafting. The presence and characteristics of a botstuk can influence diagnosis and treatment, and imaging techniques such as X-ray, CT, or MRI are commonly used to locate and assess it.

In forensic pathology, bone fragments are recovered at crime or accident scenes to help determine cause and timing of injuries, identify the individual, and assess trauma patterns. In archaeology and zooarchaeology, botstukken (bone fragments) are important for reconstructing past diets, domestication, and environments. Analysts may perform macroscopic and microscopic examination, radiocarbon dating, stable isotope analysis, and DNA testing to draw conclusions from these fragments.

While the term is mainly used in Dutch-language contexts, the concept corresponds to the English terms bone fragment or bone shard. See also bone fragment, fracture fragment, bone graft, biopsy, and forensic anthropology.