Arslan Zehra, Bol Elif Aze, Kaynak Şahap Seda, Cantürk Nergis, Cantürk Gürol
Council of Forensic Medicine, Artuklu/Mardin, Türkiye.
Institute of Forensic Sciences, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye.
Int J Legal Med. 2026 Jan;140(1):463-476. doi: 10.1007/s00414-025-03588-x. Epub 2025 Oct 13.
This study conducted a retrospective analysis of head and neck magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from the Pediatric Radiology Department at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, covering the period from 2014 to 2022. The objective was to assess facial soft tissue thickness (FSTT) in children aged 3-18 years, thereby contributing to forensic and anthropological identification processes and establishing a dataset. A sample of 300 healthy youngsters was included, divided into three age groups: 3-8 years, 9-13 years, and 14-18 years, according to age and body mass index (BMI) percentiles. The findings demonstrate that FSTT rises with age, with subnasale dimensions attaining 15.0 ± 2.9 mm in males and 12.6 ± 2.3 mm in females at the age range of 14-18 years (p < 0.001). Males demonstrated elevated FSTT values at the glabella landmark, whereas children in the 85th and 95th BMI percentiles exhibited significantly higher FSTT values (p < 0.001). The most significant BMI-related differences were observed in the labiale superius and subnasale in females aged 9 to 18 years. This study offers the pilot comprehensive dataset on variations in FSTT across children, categorized by age, sex, and BMI in Türkiye. The dataset primarily facilitates profile-based approximations, given its emphasis on midline features. However it may also provide limited utility in 3D facial reconstruction efforts. The findings will be essential for forensic and anthropological research. The findings address a gap in the forensic science literature and highlight the necessity for more research with varied age groups and foreigners.
本研究对安卡拉大学医学院儿科放射科2014年至2022年期间的头颈部磁共振成像（MRI）扫描进行了回顾性分析。目的是评估3至18岁儿童的面部软组织厚度（FSTT），从而为法医和人类学鉴定过程做出贡献并建立一个数据集。纳入了300名健康青少年样本，根据年龄和体重指数（BMI）百分位数分为三个年龄组：3至8岁、9至13岁和14至18岁。研究结果表明，FSTT随年龄增长而增加，在14至18岁年龄范围内，男性鼻下点尺寸达到15.0±2.9毫米，女性为12.6±2.3毫米（p<0.001）。男性在眉间标志处的FSTT值升高，而BMI百分位数在第85和第95位的儿童FSTT值显著更高（p<0.001）。在9至18岁女性的上唇和鼻下点观察到与BMI最显著的差异。本研究提供了土耳其首个关于不同年龄、性别和BMI儿童FSTT变化的综合数据集。鉴于该数据集强调中线特征，主要有助于基于轮廓的近似。然而，它在三维面部重建工作中的作用可能也有限。这些发现对法医和人类学研究至关重要。这些发现填补了法医学文献中的空白，并强调了对更多不同年龄组和外国人进行研究的必要性。
