Hyperostosis frontalis interna: Criteria for sexing and aging a skeleton

Hila May, Nathan Peled, Gali Dar, Haim Cohen, Janan Abbas, Bahaa Medlej, Israel Hershkovitz*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Estimation of sex and age in skeletons is essential in anthropological and forensic medicine investigations. The aim of the current study was to examine the potential of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) as a criterion for determining sex and age in forensic cases. Macroscopic examination of the inner aspect of the frontal bone of 768 skulls (326 males and 442 females) aged 1 to 103, which had undergone a head computerized tomography scan, was carried out using the volume rendering technique. HFI was divided into two categories: minor and major. HFI is a sex- and age-dependent phenomena, with females manifesting significantly higher prevalence than males (p∈<∈0.01). In both females and males, prevalence of HFI increases as age increases (p∈<∈0.01). We present herein the probabilities of designating an unknown skull to a specific sex and age cohort according to the presence of HFI (standardized to age distribution in an Israeli population). Moreover, we present the probability of an individual belonging to a specific sex or age cohort according to age or sex (respectively) and severity of HFI. We suggest a valid, reliable, and easy method for sex and age identification of unknown skulls.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)669-673
Number of pages5
JournalInternational Journal of Legal Medicine
Volume125
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2011

Keywords

  • Age determination
  • Computerized tomography
  • Forensic medicine
  • Hyperostosis frontalis interna
  • Sex determination
  • Skull

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Hyperostosis frontalis interna: Criteria for sexing and aging a skeleton'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this