Tabatabaee Seyed Morteza, Vasheghani Farahani Maryam, Alimohammadi Alimohammad, Shekarchi Babak
AJA University of medical sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2020 Oct 5;34:130. doi: 10.34171/mjiri.34.130. eCollection 2020.
Thyroid cartilage ossifies through time. In addition to different methods for age estimation, ossified volume can be a valuable index for age estimation. In this study, anthropometric characteristics and ossified volume were measured using CT scan imaging to find potential correlations between measures and age. In this study, 100 thyroid cartilage of Iranian corpses (60 men and 40 women) were studied. Corpses from Kahrizak hall of Tehran Legal Medicine Organization were included in this study. After obtaining required consent from their family, their thyroid cartilage was separated by an expert, and anthropometric properties of the cartilage were recorded. A 64-slice Siemens CT scan machine was used to measure specimen ossified volume and Hounsfield score by 3D reconstruction of images. Pearson's correlation test was used to measure the correlation between thyroid calcified volume and chronological age. Repeated measurement ANOVA test was also used to measure the correlation of the ossified volume and Hounsfield score with different age groups. SPSS version 22 was used for statistical analysis, and significance level was set at than 0.05. All thyroid cartilage measures were higher in men than in women, except for thyroid angle, and the differences were statistically significant. Height of the laminae (R=0.23, p=0.023) and depth of the thyroid notch (R=0.198, p=0.049) were correlated with age. Mean ossified volume (6.1±1.7 cc) and Hounsfield score (308.8±53.5 HU) were directly correlated with age (R=0.205; p=0.040 and R=0.219; p=0.029, respectively), but none of these two radiologic parameters were correlated with age groups (p=0.331 and 0.063, respectively). No specific ossification pattern was obtained from CT images in different age groups. A combination of anthropometric measures such as the height of the laminae and depth of the thyroid notch with CT scan imaging measures such as ossified volume and the Hounsfield score are useful to estimate age with low precision. In addition, thyroid cartilage measures are useful for sex determination.
甲状腺软骨会随时间发生骨化。除了不同的年龄估计方法外，骨化体积可作为年龄估计的一个有价值指标。在本研究中，利用CT扫描成像测量人体测量学特征和骨化体积，以找出这些测量值与年龄之间的潜在相关性。在本研究中，对100例伊朗尸体（60例男性和40例女性）的甲状腺软骨进行了研究。来自德黑兰法医学组织卡里扎克拉姆的尸体被纳入本研究。在获得其家属的必要同意后，由一名专家分离出他们的甲状腺软骨，并记录软骨的人体测量学特征。使用一台64层西门子CT扫描仪通过图像的三维重建来测量标本的骨化体积和亨氏评分。采用Pearson相关检验来测量甲状腺钙化体积与实际年龄之间的相关性。重复测量方差分析检验也用于测量骨化体积和亨氏评分与不同年龄组之间的相关性。使用SPSS 22版进行统计分析，显著性水平设定为小于0.05。除了甲状腺角外，所有甲状腺软骨测量值男性均高于女性，且差异具有统计学意义。甲状软骨板高度（R = 0.23，p = 0.023）和甲状腺切迹深度（R = 0.198，p = 0.049）与年龄相关。平均骨化体积（6.1±1.7立方厘米）和亨氏评分（308.8±53.5亨氏单位）与年龄直接相关（分别为R = 0.205；p = 0.040和R = 0.219；p = 0.029），但这两个放射学参数均与年龄组无关（分别为p = 0.331和0.063）。在不同年龄组的CT图像中未获得特定的骨化模式。甲状软骨板高度和甲状腺切迹深度等人体测量学指标与骨化体积和亨氏评分等CT扫描成像指标相结合，有助于低精度地估计年龄。此外，甲状腺软骨测量值有助于性别判定。
