Fusion of Skull Vault Sutures in Relation to Age-A Cross Sectional Postmortem Study Done in 3rd, 4th & 5th Decades of Life

Abstract

Introduction: Cranial suture closure is one trait that has been used since the 16th century for age estimation after 2nd decade of life. There exists considerable debate about its applicability and reliability in age estimation. Objective: To find out the pattern of cranial vault suture closure in relation to age in 3rd to 5th decades of life; to detect bilateral and bisexual variations in cranial suture closure; and to specify any relationship between progression of union of cranial suture and age. Materials and method: Study design: Cross-sectional observational study. Study period: November 2008 to October 2009. Sample size: 70. All the autopsy cases, between 21 to 50 years of age were studied for relation between age and cranial suture closure. Ectocranial and endocranial closure pattern were studied for sagittal coronal and lambdoid sutures. Results: Endocranial fusion of cranial suture was more regular than ectocranial fusion, and was observed as early as 21-30 years. Coronal suture was the first to fuse. Closure was found earlier in females compared to males. No definite correlation was found to exist between age and suture closures. Conclusion: With this study, we couldn’t find any possibility for suture closure to contribute substantially as one to the factors for age estimation.