Open AccessReliability of the individual age assessment at the time of death based on sternal rib-ends' morphology in Balkan population
Author(s) -
Danijela Đonić,
Marija Đurić,
Dragan Babić,
D Popović
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
vojnosanitetski pregled
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 2406-0720
pISSN - 0042-8450
DOI - 10.2298/vsp0506441d
Subject(s) - medicine , population , sternum , rib cage , autopsy , forensic science , reliability (semiconductor) , surgery , anatomy , veterinary medicine , power (physics) , physics , environmental health , quantum mechanics
This paper analyzes the reliability of the Iscan's sternal rib-ends phase method for the assessment of individual age at the time of death in the Balkan population. The method is based on the morphological age changes of the sternal rib ends. The tested samples consisted of 65 ribs from autopsy cases in the Institute for Forensic Medicine, University of Belgrade, during 1999-2002 (23 females, and 42 males of various ages, ranged from 17-91 years), according to the forensic documents. Significant differences between the real chronological age of the individuals and the values established by the Iscan's method was found, especially in the older categories (phases 6 and 7), in both males and females. The results of the discriminative analysis showed the values of the highest diagnostic relevance for the assessment of age in our population: the change of the depth of the articular fossa, the thickness of its walls, and the quality of the bones.