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Hyperostosis frontalis interna: criteria for sexing and aging a skeleton

International Journal of Legal Medicine volume 125, pages 669–673 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

Estimation of sex and age in skeletons is essential in anthropological and forensic medicine investigations. The aim of the current study was to examine the potential of hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI) as a criterion for determining sex and age in forensic cases. Macroscopic examination of the inner aspect of the frontal bone of 768 skulls (326 males and 442 females) aged 1 to 103, which had undergone a head computerized tomography scan, was carried out using the volume rendering technique. HFI was divided into two categories: minor and major. HFI is a sex- and age-dependent phenomena, with females manifesting significantly higher prevalence than males (p < 0.01). In both females and males, prevalence of HFI increases as age increases (p < 0.01). We present herein the probabilities of designating an unknown skull to a specific sex and age cohort according to the presence of HFI (standardized to age distribution in an Israeli population). Moreover, we present the probability of an individual belonging to a specific sex or age cohort according to age or sex (respectively) and severity of HFI. We suggest a valid, reliable, and easy method for sex and age identification of unknown skulls.

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Acknowledgment

We thank the Dan David Foundation and Tassia and Dr. Joseph Meychan Chair for the history, Philosophy of Medicine for the financial support, and Mrs. Phyllis Curchack Kornspan for her editorial services.

Ethical standards

The experiments in this manuscript comply with the current laws of the State of Israel. The present study was approved by the hospital's institutional review board (Helsinki committee).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, 69978, Israel

    Hila May, Haim Cohen, Janan Abbas, Bahaa Medlej & Israel Hershkovitz

  2. Department of Radiology, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, 34362, Israel

    Nathan Peled

  3. Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Studies, Haifa University, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Gali Dar

Authors
  1. Hila May
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  2. Nathan Peled
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  3. Gali Dar
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  4. Haim Cohen
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  5. Janan Abbas
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  6. Bahaa Medlej
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  7. Israel Hershkovitz
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Correspondence to Israel Hershkovitz.

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May, H., Peled, N., Dar, G. et al. Hyperostosis frontalis interna: criteria for sexing and aging a skeleton. Int J Legal Med 125, 669–673 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-010-0497-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-010-0497-6

Keywords

  • Hyperostosis frontalis interna
  • Skull
  • Sex determination
  • Age determination
  • Computerized tomography
  • Forensic medicine