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Skelettaltersbestimmung der Hand

Skeletal age determination of the hand

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Zusammenfassung

Die Beurteilung des Entwicklungsstands des Handskeletts stellt ein entscheidendes Kriterium der forensischen Altersdiagnostik lebender Personen im Strafverfahren dar. Skelettaltersbestimmungen der Hand stützen sich v. a. auf die Herausbildung der Epiphysenkerne, die Größenzunahme der einzelnen Knochen und des gesamten Handskeletts, die Formveränderungen der verschiedenen Skelettelemente sowie die Ossifikation der Epiphysenfugen. Im Folgenden werden verschiedene Verfahren zur Bestimmung des Handskelettalters mit ihrem unterschiedlichen methodischen Ansatz dargestellt. Bislang sind einige der für die klinische Praxis etablierten Verfahren hinsichtlich ihrer forensischen Anwendbarkeit untersucht worden. Nach derzeitigem Kenntnisstand sind v. a. die sog. Atlasmethoden für die forensische Altersschätzungspraxis zu empfehlen.

Abstract

Evaluation of the developmental stage of the hand skeleton is an essential part of forensic age diagnostics in living individuals involved in criminal proceedings. Skeletal age determination of the hand is mainly based on the development of the epiphyseal centers of ossification, growth of the individual bones and of the entire hand skeleton, modification of the various skeletal elements as well as ossification of the epiphyseal cartilage. Various procedures to determine the skeletal age of the hand as well as the different methodological approaches are presented. Several procedures which have been established in clinical practice have been studied in terms of forensic applicability. According to current knowledge the so-called atlas methods are particularly recommendable for forensic age diagnostics.

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Schmidt, S., Fracasso, T., Pfeiffer, H. et al. Skelettaltersbestimmung der Hand. Rechtsmedizin 20, 475–482 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-010-0708-y

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