Estimation of Age from Symphyseal Surface of Cadaveric Pubic Bones of Northwest Indian Male Adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Age estimation of dead persons of unknown age and identity from skeletal remains has an important role in legal and forensic investigations. Due to their relatively better ability to withstand the impact of physical forces and agents, the skeletal remains of human mortals provide us with wealth of information in the form of preserved morphological patterns or markings on bones. Out of all bones, morphological features on pubic bones are by far the best indicators. A large-scale study on pubic bones was conducted by a famous anatomist, Todd, in 1920, and since then his method is being followed for the assessment of age. Materials and methods Cadaveric pubic bones of 204 Northwest Indian adult males aged 18 to 61 years were taken for the study from the archive collection in museum of anatomy. Sixteen morphological features on the symphyseal surface of pubic bones were noted and arranged in 10 phases according to Todd's (1920) method. Frequency of these features present in each phase was calculated. Linear regression analysis was applied to obtain an equation for estimation of age from a pubic bone of an unknown deceased individual. Results It was seen that frequency of most morphological features of the pubic bones in the present study age groups (phases) was 100%, i.e., similar to those in Todd's study. There was a significant correlation (r = 0.9, p < 0.001) between the actual age of the pubic bone and age estimated by linear regression equation. Conclusion: Despite numerous improved methods, Todd's method remains the most useful method for determination of age. Appearance of morphological features on the symphyseal surface of pubic bones in the present study were similar to most phases of Todd's study. Thus, Todd's method can be successfully applied for the estimation of age in Northwest Indian adult male population. How to cite this article Sodhi L, Singh H, Sahni D, Gupta T, Aggarwal A, Chawla K, Kaur H. Estimation of Age from Symphyseal Surface of Cadaveric Pubic Bones of Northwest Indian Male Adults. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2016;50(4):176-180.