Ji L, Terazawa K, Tsukamoto T, Haga K
Department of Legal Medicine, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Hokkaido Igaku Zasshi. 1994 Jan;69(1):104-11.
The sternal ends of right clavicles of Japanese aged 13-31 years (n = 54) autopsied during 1982-1992 were observed for determining degree of epiphyseal union to establish a criterion for age estimation. As the degree of union 5 stages (McKern and Stewart, 1957) were applied to samples: Stage 0; without any union between the trunk and the epiphyseal cap, stage 1; between stage 0 and stage 2, stage 2; half united, stage 3; between stage 2 and stage 4, and stage 4; completely united. As results, in females union appears to proceed faster than in males. There were cases in which union reached stage 4 in younger ages. As a criterion for age estimation it is proposed at present that in both sex, when union is in stage 0, age is certainly estimated to be less than 22 years old and in stage 4, more than 19 years old. Comparing the present data with the investigation about American males by McKern and Stewart (1957), in Japanese males union proceeds more fast than them. The authors realized that the correct criteria should be used in age estimation on a sample belonging to the same race and to the times. The clavicles in skeletal remains tend to be preserved outdoors and are suitable for estimating age from adolescence to about 30 years old. Therefore the present criterion would be very useful in districts such as Hokkaido where skeletal remains are commonly found.
对1982年至1992年间解剖的13至31岁日本人群（n = 54）的右锁骨胸骨端进行观察，以确定骨骺联合程度，从而建立年龄估计标准。根据联合程度，将5个阶段（McKern和Stewart，1957）应用于样本：阶段0，骨干与骨骺帽之间无任何联合；阶段1，介于阶段0和阶段2之间；阶段2，半联合；阶段3，介于阶段2和阶段4之间；阶段4，完全联合。结果显示，女性的联合进程似乎比男性更快。存在在较年轻年龄联合就达到阶段4的情况。作为年龄估计标准，目前建议，无论男女，当联合处于阶段0时，年龄肯定小于22岁，处于阶段4时，年龄大于19岁。将目前的数据与McKern和Stewart（1957）对美国男性的调查进行比较，日本男性的联合进程比他们更快。作者意识到，在对属于同一种族和同一时代的样本进行年龄估计时应使用正确的标准。骨骼遗骸中的锁骨往往保存在户外，适合从青春期到大约30岁的年龄估计。因此，目前的标准在北海道等骨骼遗骸常见的地区将非常有用。
