Cranial sutures as an age indicator: verification of the method using postmortem CT acquisition material

Age estimation at the time of death is an integral part of forensic examination whenever unidentified human remains are discovered. In the case of adult remains the methods of age estimation are based mostly on the extent of age-related degenerative changes. The most controversial method makes use of cranial suture assessment. The purpose of this study was to verify whether assessment of cranial suture closure may be considered a useful and reliable method in forensic estimation of age at death. Postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) acquisitions of 114 male skulls were evaluated. Multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) to visualize the progress of suture closure in cross-sections was used. The inner and outer surfaces of each skull were visualized with the volume rendering technique (VRT). The coronal, sagittal, and lambdoid sutures were assessed with a suture closure scale introduced by Broca. Cranial suture assessment has been generally used for estimating age ranges, such as "younger/older", "under about 30 years of age", "over 50 years of age". Moreover, lambdoid suture closure is unrelated to age, except for its ectocranial part L3 on the left side. These observations indicate no major importance of this age estimation method in forensic anthropology.