title: Sonographic assessment of the ossification of the medial clavicular epiphysis in 616 individuals.
abstract: Establishing radiation-free imaging methods for the assessment of clavicular ossification in forensic age determination is desirable as it reduces radiation exposure in living individuals. For this purpose the stage of ossification of the right medial clavicular epiphysis was determined prospectively using sonography in 309 male and 307 female healthy volunteers. The classification of stages according to Schulz et al. was used for this purpose. Stage 2 was first noticed at the age of 14.4 years in males, and at the age of 14.1 years in females. Stage 3 was first achieved by males at the age of 17.6 years and by females at the age of 17.4 years. Stage 4 first occurred in males at the age of 19.3 years and at the age of 18.9 years in females. The mean age for stage 1 was 13.6 years. The mean age of stage 2 ranged between 17.3 and 17.6 years. For stage 3 the mean age varied from 20.7 to 21.2 years, and for stage 4 from 23.3 to 23.5 years. It was concluded that sonographically determined stage 4 clavicular ossification provides evidence for the completion of the nineteenth year of life in males and the eighteenth year of life in females. In order to increase the reliability of age determination using this method it is recommended that findings be recorded by at least two experienced independent examiners who then reach a consensus.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Röntgenstraße 23, 48149, Münster, Germany. ronald.schulz@ukmuenster.de
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schiborr
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmeling
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002968:Clavicle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development; D032921:Consensus; D004838:Epiphyses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010012:Osteogenesis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D055815:Young Adult