Magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal tibial epiphysis: could it be helpful in forensic age estimation?
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal tibial epiphysis: could it be helpful in forensic age estimation? Eman Ahmed Alaa El-Din 1 & Heba El Sayed Mostafa 1 & Engy Fathiy Tantawy 2 & Dalia Abdallah El-Shafei 3 Accepted: 17 April 2019 / Published online: 24 May 2019 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019
Abstract There is an increasing demand for age estimations of living persons who are involved in civil and criminal procedures but lack a valid birth certificate indicating their date of birth. Several studies have recommended the application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and assessment of the stage of epiphyseal fusion in age estimation. This study involved retrospective MRI analysis of 335 cases (217 males and 118 females) whose ages ranged from 8 to 28 years (yrs). We assessed the degree of ossification of the proximal tibial epiphysis depending on the classifications of Schmeling and Kellinghaus used for the main stages (I, II, III, IV & V) and substages (IIa, b, c & IIIa, b, c). Significant differences between males and females at stages IIIc, IV and V (p < 0.001) were observed. Additionally, the ossification of the proximal tibial epiphyses occurred earlier in females than in males (2–4 yrs). The mean of ages in stage IV was approximately 18.6 yrs. in females and 22.5 yrs. in males, meaning that stage IV can be used as a valuable forensic marker to determine whether the person in question has reached the age of 18 yrs. We concluded that the application of MRI in the assessment of the ossification status of the proximal tibial epiphysis could be helpful in age estimation for various forensic purposes. Keywords Age estimation . Tibia . Knee . Magnetic resonance imaging . Radiology
Introduction Age estimation in living adolescents and young adults is a relatively young branch of forensic medicine which has gained importance since the early 1990s as a result of a worldwide
* Eman Ahmed Alaa El-Din [email protected] Heba El Sayed Mostafa [email protected] Engy Fathiy Tantawy [email protected] Dalia Abdallah El-Shafei [email protected] 1
Departments of Forensic Medicine &Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Asharquia, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
2
Departments of Radiodiagnosis, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
3
Departments of Community, Environmental & Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
increase in cross-border migration due to a globalized economy and on-going conflicts. This migration has meant that the percentage of foreigners without proper documentation of their age has steadily increased among the general population in many countries, making the ability to determine their majority status difficult [1, 2]. Assessment of the minimum age of an individual is an important task of radiology-based age estimation as it is of crucial importance in criminal proceedings in order to determine whether juvenile penal systems or penal systems in force fo
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