Abstract
Mass disasters represent highly complex situations for emergency services and forensic sciences, particularly when they involve a large number of victims, fragmentation, burning, decomposition, or commingling of human remains. In such scenarios, victim identification goes beyond the isolated application of a specific method or the work of a single professional category, requiring organization, standardization, traceability, and multidisciplinary integration. This study aimed to analyze the main challenges associated with human identification in mass disasters, emphasizing the integrated action of forensic science professionals throughout the identification process. An integrative literature review was conducted, including scientific publications related to Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), recovery and processing of human remains, forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic odontology, fingerprint examination, genetics, and complementary identification methods. The literature demonstrates that the identification process involves interdependent stages, beginning at the disaster scene and continuing through post-mortem examination, collection of ante-mortem information, and reconciliation of data. Fingerprints, dental comparison, and DNA analysis are considered primary identification methods, while anthropology, radiology, distinctive characteristics, and other resources may provide complementary information. Brazilian experience, particularly the Brumadinho disaster, demonstrates the importance of integrating different methods and professional areas. It is concluded that the effectiveness of human identification in mass disasters depends not only on technical resources, but also on the institutional capacity to organize teams, establish workflows, preserve traceability, and integrate information produced by different forensic professionals.