Overview of age-related morphological changes in lumbar vertebrae

Abstract

© 2019 Japan Health Sciences University & Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation. Objective: The age estimation of bone is essential for identification of unknown-identity people in both forensic and anthropological sciences. Previous studies developed adult age estimation in the morphological changes of osteophytes from the lumbar vertebrae. Correspondingly, the macroporosity and the resorption of the cortical surface can be used for evaluating age, but no previous research is reported. The lumbar vertebrae, is often better preserved than the long bones because they can remain intact after severe burning due to the soft tissue covering. This paper studied the age-related changes in the lumbar vertebrae. Conclusion: Developing an age estimation method in the osteophyte with a starting point in macroporosity and resorption of cortical surface was the goal of this study.