Museu Nacional de História Natural, Departamento de Zoologia e Antropologia and Centro de Biologia Ambiental, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua da Escola Politécnica 56/58, 1250-102 Lisboa, Portugal.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2011 Feb;144(2):238-47. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.21394. Epub 2010 Sep 24.
The presacral vertebrae have various secondary centers of ossification, whose timing of fusion can be used for age estimation of human skeletal remains up to the middle to the latter third decade. However, detailed information about the age at which these secondary centers of ossification fuse has been lacking. In this study, the timing of epiphyseal union in presacral vertebrae was studied in a sample of modern Portuguese skeletons (57 females and 47 males) between the ages of 9 and 30, taken from the Lisbon documented skeletal collection. A detailed photographic record of these epiphyses and the age ranges for the different stages of epiphyseal union are provided. Partial union of epiphyses was observed from 11 to 27 years of age. In general, centers of ossification begin to fuse first in the cervical and lumbar vertebrae, followed by centers of ossification in the thoracic region. The first center of ossification to complete fusion is usually that of the mammillary process in lumbar vertebrae. This is usually followed by that of the transverse process, spinous transverse process, and annular ring, regardless of vertebra type. There were no statistically significant sex differences in timing of fusion, but there was a trend toward early maturation in females for some vertebra or epiphyses. Bilateral epiphyses did not show statistically significant differences in timing of fusion. This study offers information on timing of fusion of diverse epiphyseal locations useful for age estimation of complete or fragmented human skeletal remains.
骶前椎有各种继发骨化中心，其融合时间可用于估计人类骨骼遗骸的年龄，最长可达中年至后三分之一十年。然而，关于这些继发骨化中心融合的年龄的详细信息一直缺乏。在这项研究中，研究了来自里斯本有记录的骨骼收藏的现代葡萄牙骨骼样本（57 名女性和 47 名男性）中 9 至 30 岁的骶前椎骺融合的时间。提供了这些骺的详细照片记录以及不同骺融合阶段的年龄范围。从 11 岁到 27 岁观察到骺的部分融合。一般来说，颈椎和腰椎的骺首先开始融合，然后是胸椎的骺。首先完成融合的骨化中心通常是腰椎的乳突。接下来通常是横突、棘突横突和环状带的骨化中心，无论椎骨类型如何。融合时间没有性别差异，但女性在某些椎骨或骺处有早熟的趋势。双侧骺在融合时间上没有统计学上的显著差异。这项研究提供了关于不同骺位置融合时间的信息，这些信息对于估计完整或破碎的人类骨骼遗骸的年龄很有用。
