The four main features of biological identity are sex, age, stature, and ethnic background. The forensic osteologist aims to establish these attributes for an individual from their skeletal remains. Many techniques are available for the osteological determination of sex in the adult but it is one of the most difficult biological factors to ascribe to juvenile remains. Conversely, there are a multitude of markers to estimate age in the young skeleton but ageing becomes less accurate with increasing years. Stature is usually a relatively straightforward parameter to establish in the adult. In the juvenile, it is naturally correlated with age but is complicated by differences in rates of growth both between the sexes and between individuals. Determination of ethnic identity is the least reliable and is hampered by lack of data on many populations. This paper reviews the principal methods used to establish identity and comments on their reliability and accuracy in the forensic context.

http://www.academia.dk/BiologiskAntropologi/Osteologi/PDF/Scheuer2002.pdf

Application of osteology to forensic medicine

Many authors have studied the thyroid cartilage ossification process using radiographic features for age estimation of individuals. Their results were various: Sugiyama reported excellent correlation coefficients between ossification rates and civil age, unlike most other authors. We hypothesized that recent advances in imaging techniques would enable more precise evaluation of the ossification of the thyroid cartilage. We retrospectively analyzed the CT scans of 312 French patients using postprocessing software to examine the pattern of thyroid cartilage ossification, calculating the ossified volume of the cartilage on 3D reconstructions. Pearson's correlation coefficients for volume were 0.73 for men and 0.75 for women (standard error 18.02 and 17.06), indicating considerable inter-individual variability. Although a correlation between civil age and morphological changes was found, these methods based on thyroid cartilage ossification were not accurate enough for the assessment of individual age.

Thyroid cartilage ossification and multislice computed tomography examination: a useful tool for age assessment?

Experiences with pre- and postmortem imaging in a forensic setting create more and more interest. If autopsy is permitted, forensic pathologists perform careful examination of the neck structures, which plays an important role as this is decisive in the diagnostics of compressive neck injury. Primary tools are important: forensic pathologists and radiologists are supposed to be aware of the complex anatomy of the neck, especially the laryngeal region, to interprete their findings at autopsy and after imaging. It is of great interest whether CT and MR imaging techniques would be useful in comparing findings of autopsy and document findings if autopsy is refused. In the light of this, the embryology, anatomy and a review of imaging techniques of the neck will be highlighted in this article, with special attention to the value of updated imaging techniques of the larynx for forensic purposes in living people and postmortem.

Embryology, normal anatomy, and imaging techniques of the hyoid and larynx with respect to forensic purposes: a review article

Ce travail de these interroge le lien qui existe entre voix et genre. Le triple dispositif analytique sociophonetique, consistant a articuler donnees phonetiques, experimentales et ethnographiques, a permis d’etudier comment une voix est percue comme genree et comment des locutrices/eurs utilisent des pratiques vocales pour indexer des identites de genre. Deux experiences dans lesquelles etaient utilises comme stimuli des voix de synthese et des voix resynthetisees ont permis d’observer que la frequence fondamentale et les frequences de resonance jouent des roles differents dans la perception du genre. Une troisieme experience avec des voix de locutrices/eurs trans (transgenres, transsexuel-le-s) a permis de reproduire les resultats des deux experiences precedentes : en deca d’un certain seuil de frequence fondamentale, les voix tendent a etre percues comme « voix d’hommes » ; la perception genree de voix produites avec des frequences fondamentales superieures a ce seuil est cependant largement determinee par les frequences de resonance.L’etude de pratiques vocales utilisees par des locutrices/eurs trans a souleve un ensemble de questions sur le passing de genre et sur la co-indexation d’identites et de postures par la voix. Elle a aussi souleve la question de la legitimite de chercheurs identifies comme hommes cisgenres a realiser ce type d’etude. Une demarche ethnographique a pu apporter des elements de reponse a ces differentes questions. Une analyse de la litterature phonetique a finalement permis de montrer que celle-ci, a travers ses questions et hypotheses de recherche, ses axiomes, ses analyses et interpretations des donnees, peut vehiculer une ideologie de genre binaire et sexiste.

/pdf/la-voix-genree-entre-ideologies-et-pratiques-une-etude-2nr8cgytgg.pdf

La voix genrée, entre idéologies et pratiques – Une étude sociophonétique

Endochondral ossification is a process that also occurs in the skeleton of the larynx. Differences in the ossification mechanism in comparison to growth plates are not understood until now. To get deeper insights into this process, human thyroid cartilage was investigated by the use of X-rays and a series of light-microscopic stainings. A statistical analysis of mineralization was done by scanning areas of mineralized cartilage and of ossification. We detected a special mode of endochondral ossification which differs from the processes in growth plates. Thyroid cartilage ossifies very slowly and in a gender-specific manner. Compared with age-matched women, bone formation in thyroid cartilage of men is significantly higher in the age group 41-60 years. Endochondral ossification is prepared by internal changes of extracellular matrix leading to areas of asbestoid fibers with ingrowing cartilage canals. In contrast to growth plates, bone is deposited on large areas of mineralized cartilage, which appear at the rims of cartilage canals. Furthermore, primary parallel fibered bone was observed which was deposited on woven bone. The predominant bone type is cancellous bone with trabeculae, whereas compact bone with Haversian systems was seldom found. Trabeculae contain a great number of reversal and arresting lines meaning that the former were often reconstructed and that bone formation was arrested and resumed again with advancing age. It is hypothesized that throughout life trabeculae of ossified thyroid cartilage undergo adaptation to different loads due to the use of voice.

Special pattern of endochondral ossification in human laryngeal cartilages: X-ray and light-microscopic studies on thyroid cartilage

Various changes in the human laryngeal cartilages have been studied by the naked eye, radiology, and histology in 28 dissecting room and 20 autopsy specimens (21 male and 27 female) ranging from 14 to 101 years. Except for one 14- and one 20-year-old specimen, radiographic signs of calcification occurred in all and were found in hyaline cartilaginous tissue of the thyroid, cricoid, arytenoid, and the variably occurring triticiate cartilages. A series of stages has been established indicating the pattern of spread of the process in the thyroid cricoid and arytenoid cartilages. Minor differences between the sexes were found in the thyroid and the cricoid, and some correlation was noted between sites of calcification with sites of muscle attachment and sites of greatest mass. The degree of involvement was not, however, found to be a reliable index of age, with wide variations occurring between individuals. Histology showed various degenerative processes, including calcification, but also revealed the occurrence of actual ossification even in some younger specimens. However, some foci of cartilage always persisted even when ossification was well advanced. Naked eye examination detected regions within the cartilages where ossification was well established, dark areas being produced by the presence of marrow. The remaining tissue was found histologically to be composed of cartilage, which might be calcified or might even contain small foci of bone. Radiology was an accurate method for detection of calcification and ossification, which were sometimes distinguishable, larger masses of calcified cartilage having a dense uniform radiographic appearance unlike the trabecular pattern of bone. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

L. Munir Turk

Papers

Age changes in the human laryngeal cartilages