Age estimation in the Thai male population using epiphyseal union of the medial clavicle

Objectives To study the relationship between the union of the epiphyseal plate of the medial clavicle and age in the Thai male population. Methods Age-at-death estimation was evaluated from clavicles obtained from 200 cadavers of Thai males aged between 11 and 35 years. After soft tissue removal, the fusion status of the medial clavicular epiphysis was classified using a morphological classification. Stages of the epiphyseal union were categorized as follows: 1) nonunion with no epiphyses, 2) nonunion with separate epiphyses, 3) partial union, and 4) complete union. Results The stage of development of the epiphyseal union increased with age. The nonunion stage was found in indivi-duals up to 22 years old. Complete epiphyseal union was found as early as age 22. Partial union was found in individuals 19-26 years old. Conclusions The stage of the epiphyseal union of the medial clavicle in Thai males is related to age. We recommend using complete union (stage 4) of epiphyseal development to indicate age more than 22 years and nonunion (stage 1 and 2) to represent age less than 22 years in Thai males.

Determination of Epiphyseal Union Age in the Knee and Hand Joints Bones among the Saudi Population in Taif City

Introduction. The use of radiographic data for determination of age, according to the epiphyseal union stage, is a widely accepted method and considered scientifically approved. The aim of the present work is to estimate the age of epiphyseal union of hand and knee joints bones among Saudi population in Taif City. Subjects and Method. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Armed Forces Hospitals (4 hospitals) in Taif City. The five-stage method was used for the union assessment. Results. A total of 473 patients’ X-ray images were involved. Approximately three-quarters of the knee and hand images were males’ images (77.25% and 75.41%, resp.). The means of age of stage 3 (age of recent union) in the knee joint were 23.63 ± 3.12 and 21.19 ± 3.41 in males and females, respectively, and 19.84 ± 3.47 and 17.19 ± 1.61 in hand joints for males and females, respectively. There were significant differences between males and females in the means of age for stages 1, 3, and 4 at the knee joint plates and for stages 0, 2, and 3 in the hand joint plates (P values were <0.05). However, by comparing the mean of age for each stage with the previous stage mean in males and females, there was a significant difference between stages 0–4 (P values ≤ 0.0001, ≤0.001, <0.0001, and <0.001, resp.) and stages 2 and 3 (P value = 0.012) in knee joint images for males and females, respectively. In addition, there were significant differences between stages 2–4 in hand joints for males and females (P values ≤ 0.0001, <0.0001, <0.0001, and <0.0001, resp.) and stages 0 and 1 for males only (P value = 0.002). Conclusion and Recommendation. This study suggests that the union of epiphyses of knees and hands in Taif City occurs later than other places. More studies must be done with female samples.