Arif Rasheed Malik, Zulfiqar Ali Buzdar, Fakhar-uz Zaman, Zia-ul Haq, Javaid Munir, Mouzma Marrium.
Macroscopic study of the Sagittal Suture – a tool for estimation of Age.
Pak J Med Health Sci Jan ;13(2):357-60.

Background: Forensic significance of age estimation is vital both in civil and criminal cases. Legal matters demanding a reasonably acceptable age estimation eventually lies upon the undeniable evidence. The sudden rise in nationwide mass disaster mishaps has significantly increased the importance of age estimation as a key factor to identification. Several methods can be accustomed to determine age from different aspects including physiological parameters, dental data, developmental stages of long bones and the cranial sutures. One supersedes the other for several reasons. The peculiar issues arise in cases exceeding the age of 30. The skeletal series especially the cranium tackles all such issues along with the advantage of coping the problems of decomposition. In the cranium, the sagittal suture had been the suture of choice historically by all researchers probably because of its vital location on the skull. Aim: To determine the age of a deceased by studying the degree of sagittal suture closure macroscopically. Methods: All the cases for this purpose had been selected from those brought for autopsy in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, King Edward Medical University Lahore during the year 2016. Results: The statistical analysis revealed grossly positive correlation between the degree of sagittal suture closure both ectocranially and endocranially with advancing age. The p value was significant being less than 0.05 Conclusion: Conclusively the estimation of age could possibly be determined with certain degree of accuracy by macroscopic study of the Sagittal Suture on autopsy table.

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