Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Epiphyseal Union (epiphyseal + union)
Selected AbstractsAge Estimation Using Thoracic and First Two Lumbar Vertebral Ring Epiphyseal UnionJOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 2 2010Midori Albert Ph.D. Abstract:, Union of the vertebral centra or "ring" epiphyses occurs during adolescence and early adulthood, providing valuable age at death information. We present a system for estimating age based on the timing and pattern of vertebral ring union. Data from 57 known individuals aged 14,27 years were used to establish age ranges for various patterns of union in females and males. Female age ranges were more well defined with less overlap in patterns of union than male age ranges. The age ranges are accompanied by descriptions of the stages of union observed that aid in applying this method. A test of interobserver error in scoring stages of union demonstrated strong consistency among three observers (r = 0.91,0.97). Estimating age by observing all stages documented resulted in 78%, 88%, and 100% accuracies using vertebral data alone. We encourage the continued use of this method, in conjunction with other age indicators. [source] A probable case of gigantism in a fifth Dynasty skeleton from the Western Cemetery at Giza, EgyptINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2005D. M. MulhernArticle first published online: 31 DEC 200 Abstract Pituitary gigantism is a rare endocrine disorder caused by excess secretion of growth hormone during childhood. Individuals with this condition exhibit unusually tall stature due to prolonged growth as well as associated degenerative changes. Continued secretion of excess growth hormone during adulthood results in acromegaly, a related condition that results in bony overgrowth of the skull, hands and feet. The remains of a large adult male, probably in his late 20s or early 30s, from a Fifth Dynasty tomb (2494,2345 BC) were excavated in 2001 from Cemetery 2500 in the Western Cemetery at Giza, Egypt, as part of the Howard University Giza Cemetery Project. This individual exhibits characteristics of pituitary gigantism, including tall but normally-proportioned stature, delayed epiphyseal union, a large sella turcica, advanced arthritis and a transepiphyseal fracture of the left femoral head. Additional pathological features, including osteopenia and thinness of the parietal bones, suggest that this individual may also have been hypogonadal. Craniometric comparisons with other ancient Egyptian groups as well as modern normal and acromegalic patients show some tendency toward acromegalic skull morphology. Differential diagnosis includes eunuchoid gigantism, Sotos syndrome, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, Marfan syndrome, homocystinuria, Weaver syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome. In conclusion, the pathological features associated with this skeleton are more consistent with pituitary gigantism than any of the other syndromes that result in skeletal overgrowth. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A method to establish the relationship between chronological age and stage of union from radiographic assessment of epiphyseal fusion at the knee: an Irish population studyJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 2 2008J. E. O'Connor Abstract Characteristic changes during epiphyseal union provide a skeletal age, which when compared with age-based standards provides an estimation of chronological age. Currently there are no data on epiphyseal union for the purposes of age estimation specific to an Irish population. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the relationship between stage of epiphyseal union at the knee joint and chronological age in a modern Irish population. A novel radiographic method that sub-divides the continuum of development into five specific stages of union is presented. Anteroposterior and lateral knee radiographs of 148 males and 86 females, aged 9,19 years, were examined. Fusion was scored as Stage 0, non-union; Stage 1, beginning union; Stage 2, active union; Stage 3, recent union; or Stage 4, complete union. Stage of epiphyseal union is correlated with chronological age in both males and females. Mean age gradually increases with each stage of union and also varies between male and female subjects. A statistically significant difference in mean age was recorded between stages when compared to the previous stage, for the three epiphyses. Irish children are comparable to those from previously published studies with epiphyseal union in females occurring earlier than males. A significant difference was noted between the mean age of union for males and females for each of Stages 1 and 2 for the femur and Stages 0, 1, 2 and 3 for the tibia and the fibula. The results also suggest that the stages of union occur at earlier ages in this Irish population. Implementation of standardized methodology is necessary to investigate if this is due to a secular or population variation in maturation or to a methodology which clearly identifies five stages of union. [source] Age estimation from stages of union of the vertebral epiphyses of the ribsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Luis Ríos Abstract This study attempts to fill a persistent gap in the literature by documenting the timing of epiphyseal union at the vertebral end of the ribs in a sample of modern Portuguese skeletons. The skeletal remains of 53 females and 45 males, between the ages of 11 and 30, were taken from the Lisbon documented skeletal collection. Individuals in the sample have been previously described as being representative of a middle-to-low socioeconomic segment of the early 20th century Lisbon population. Three anatomical locations were examined for epiphyseal union: the head, the articular tubercle and the nonarticular tubercle. The first epiphysis to show partial union is that of the nonarticular tubercle (females, 11,19 years; males, 11,19 years), followed by the epiphysis of the articular tubercle (females, 11,20 years; males, 16,20 years), and finally by the head epiphysis (females, 15,24 years; males, 16,22 years), which can still show incomplete epiphyseal closure at 25 and 24 years for females and males, respectively. A trend for earlier female maturation was observed, but the statistical tests only confirmed this result for some ribs and age groups. No directional asymmetry was found, but a significant fluctuating asymmetry was observed in all three epiphyses. A preliminary analysis showed that the asymmetric group of individuals in the study sample includes all the rural-to-urban migrants, relative to the symmetric group. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||