Kuatrakul Adisuan, Vachirawongsakorn Vijarn
Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand.
Anat Cell Biol. 2023 Sep 30;56(3):367-373. doi: 10.5115/acb.23.024. Epub 2023 May 16.
One of the main parameters in the analysis of skeletal remains in forensic anthropological cases is the estimation of age. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between age and the fusion status of the sternal junction. This crosssectional study was carried out on 184 sterna from 94 females and 90 males obtained from known-age cadavers in the Thai population. By direct observation, the fusion stage of the manubrio-sternal and sterno-xiphoidal junctions was studied and divided into unfused and fused joints. The results showed that a large proportion of the sterna remain unfused throughout adulthood, with fusion observed in both young and old cadavers. Insignificant differences in the rate of fusion, the sexes and ages were observed. None of the sterna under 30 years of age in females and 32 years of age in males showed fusion of the manubrio-sternal and sterno-xiphoidal junctions. Based on the variability of the sternal fusions observed in this study, we highlighted a very limited role of the sternum alone in the estimation of age in the Thai population.
法医人类学案例中骨骼遗骸分析的主要参数之一是年龄估计。本研究旨在调查年龄与胸骨关节融合状态之间的相关性。这项横断面研究对来自泰国人群已知年龄尸体的94名女性和90名男性的184块胸骨进行。通过直接观察，研究了胸骨柄与胸骨体关节和剑突与胸骨体关节的融合阶段，并分为未融合和融合关节。结果表明，很大一部分胸骨在整个成年期仍未融合，在年轻和年老的尸体中均观察到融合情况。在融合率、性别和年龄方面未观察到显著差异。女性30岁以下和男性32岁以下的胸骨均未显示胸骨柄与胸骨体关节和剑突与胸骨体关节的融合。基于本研究中观察到的胸骨融合的变异性，我们强调仅胸骨在泰国人群年龄估计中的作用非常有限。
