Forensic Diagnostics of the Skeletal Age in the Living - Backgrounds and Methodology

Background The expert opinions on forensic age diagnostics requested by state institutions are used to show the exceeding of legally relevant age thresholds, especially the completed 18th year of life. According to the recommendations of the Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics (AGFAD), this requires - among other things - a determination of skeletal age. Method Considering recent scientific knowledge, the current conditions and established skeletal age diagnostics methods are presented. Additionally, this review article sheds light on the influence of ethnicity and socioeconomic status, ques- tions regarding indication, as well as alternative and future developments. Results and Conclusion In forensic age diagnostics, particularly hand radiography and thin-slice CT of the medial clavicular epiphysis are relevant for determining skeletal age. The Atlas method of Greulich and Pyle (1959) and the clavicular stages by Schmeling et al. (2004) and Kellinghaus et al. (2010) are primarily used for this. This spectrum of methods, which is based on a very solid database, might be supplemented by MRI studies of the knee joint in the near future.