Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Coordinate Mapping of Hyolaryngeal Mechanics in Swallowing
Published on: May 6, 2014
Study of age of fusion of hyoid bone
Atul Gupta1, Anil Kohli, Narinder Kumar Aggarwal
1Department of Forensic Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095, India. atul_ucms@yahoo.co.in
Abstract:
The present study was conducted to determine the age of fusion of greater cornua with the body of hyoid bone. Age of fusion of hyoid bone can help in determining the age of an individual, especially of unknown dead bodies where only skeletal remains are available. A victim of compression of neck will more likely have fracture of hyoid bone if his hyoid bone is fused. Indian authors have reported that the fusion of hyoid bone occurs after 40 years of age. Studies done by foreign workers observed that hyoid bone fused at an earlier age (30-40 years). A total of 170 excised hyoid bones from dead bodies belonging to the age group of 20-65 years were studied. Fusion occurred earlier in females as compared to males by about 5 years. The mean age of unilateral and bilateral fusion in males was 38.25 and 53.16 years, respectively. The mean age of unilateral and bilateral fusion in females was 38.00 and 48.50 years, respectively. All the hyoid bones were fused after the age of 60 years. No significant differences were found between the fusion on right and left side.
Related Concept Videos
The Hyoid Bone
Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
Muscles of the Anterior Neck
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into...
Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification

