Radiological study of epiphyseal appearance and fusion around elbow joint on Bengali population of West Bengal

Abstract

Determination of age and corroboration of chronological age with skeletal age is often done in doubtful situations of civil and  criminal cases. Skeletal age is determined by radiological examination of different joints to assess appearance and fusion of secondary  ossification centers of bones. This study was aimed to assess such findings around elbow joints with respect to valid chronological  age in Bengali population. It was a retrospective study of 480 subjects' anteroposterior and lateral view of elbow skiagrams aged  between 7-20 years for both male and female subjects. Head of radius, medial epicondyle of humerus, trochlea of humerus, olecranon  process of ulna, lateral epicondyle of humerus were examined in each case and found to be present in all cases by 8, 10, 10, 11, 12  years in females and 10, 10, 13, 14, 14 years in males. Fusion of epiphyses was found to follow a similar sequence between 8-10  years of age in average. Majority of the fusion occurred around 13 years in female and around 15 years in male. The range of age of  appearance and fusion of each bony landmark was also determined in this study. The present study is a step forward in solving  medicolegal disputes of skeletal age determination in West Bengal with a standard reference range.