When human remains are discovered, the age of the remains is, along with gender, the most important criterion for the police. These indicators form the basis of what is called the “biological profile”: an estimate of an individual’s sex, ancestry, age and height.
Using this data, authorities are able to search the list of missing persons to find candidates matching the established identity. Therefore, specialists are responsible for comparing ante-mortem and post-mortem data. However, is it possible to accurately determine the age of a deceased body? Joe Adserias-Garriga, forensic odontologist at Mercyhurst University (United States), responds in the columns of the Spanish daily El País.
Once the corpse has been cleaned, forensic pathologists place it in an anatomical position and examine it. “This first view tells us whether it is a juvenile or adult individual (by size and fusion of bones), whether it is a young adult or an older adult (by degenerative changes in the bones), if it is a man or a woman (by the morphology of the pelvis and the skull)”, describes the Spanish pathologist in the Madrid newspaper.
More precise estimates among young people
At birth we have about 806 or 807 ossification centers, that is, bone fragments. These bone fragments fuse together and we end up having 206 or 207 of them as adults. “Some structures fuse earlier than others, so the ones that fuse later are the ones that help us refine the age. For example, if everything ends up merging, this allows us to know if the individual is between approximately 18 and 25 years old. Then, in adults, there will be progressive degeneration of the skeleton,” she explains.
If it is a juvenile individual, forensic doctors base themselves…
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