Forensic Science International 147S (2005) S69S74

www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint

New forensic anthropological approachment for the age

determination of human fetal skeletons on the base of
morphometry of vertebral column
F. Kosaa,*, C. Castellanab
a

University of Szeged, Department of Forensic Medicine, Kossuth Lajos sgt 40, 6724 Szeged, Hungary
b
University of Barcelona, Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology, Barcelona, Spain
Available online 19 January 2005

Abstract
The anthropometrical study was carried out on 107 human fetal/newborn skeletons (54 male, 43 female, and 9 of unknown
sex). The age of the individuals ranged from 4 to 10 lunar months.
Each fetal or newborn vertebral region (cervical, thoracal and lumbar) has its own distinguishing features that are easily
identifiable even in fragmentary bones.
With our large sample size and extension of the age range studied, we are able to determine the fetal age with a considerable
degree of accuracy from measurements defined in the vertebral ossification centers using regression equations.
A simple rapid method for the identification and classification of fetal vertebral column bones has been contributed. The
identification and classifications were carried out using discriminant functions.
Knowledge of changes in vertebral column bones during fetal development is important in applied contexts of forensic and
anthropology researches.
# 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Forensic anthropology; Morphology of the human fetal vertebral column

1. Introduction
In the year 2002, Conceptio Castellana prepared an
excellent 576 pages volume doctoral dissertation title Anatomy and anthropometry of human fetuses and newborns
vertebral column ossification centers [6]. The investigations detected a lot of new forensic anthropological informations and knowledgement. In this presentation we would

like to call the interest for the most important result of the
work.
2. Material and methods
The anthropometrical study was carried out on 107
human fetal/newborn skeletons (54 male, 43 female, and
9 of unknown sex). The age of the individuals ranged from 4
to 10 lunar months.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kosa@anat-fm.szote.u-szeged.hu (F. Kosa).
0379-0738/$ see front matter # 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2004.09.096

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F. Kosa, C. Castellana / Forensic Science International 147S (2005) S69S74

Fig. 1. Newborn vertebral ossification centers (inferior view).

Fig. 2. Cervical vertebrae third to seventh (inferior view).

Fig. 3. Newborn vertebral centra (superior view).

Fig. 4. Ossification centres of a newborn thoracic vertebra (inferior

view).

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Fig. 7. Lumbar vertebrate issification centers (inferior view).

Fig. 5. Thoracic vertebrae ossification centers (inferior view).

Fig. 6. Newborn lumbar vertebra (inferior view). Diameters examined.

Fig. 8. Newborn sacral vertebra (inferior view).

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F. Ko sa, C. Castellana / Forensic Science International 147S (2005) S69S74

Fig. 12. Measurements taken in lumbar neural arches.

Fig. 9. Measurements taken in the neural arch of third and seventh

vertebrae.

Fig. 10. Measurements taken in the sacral neural arches (inferior

view).

Fig. 11. Measurements taken in thoracic neural arches.

Fig. 13. Sacral vertebrae ossification centers (inferior view).

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Fig. 14. Ossification centers of the neural arch of the atlas in the course of the age range studied (from 4 to 10 lunar months). Superior view.

Fig. 15. Linear regression line corresponding to the length of any

thoracic neural arch.

3. Conclusions
Gross anatomical examination of fetal and newborn
vertebral column ossification centers has shown that vertebrae are constituted by three definitive ossification centers
each one of them; two lateral neural arches and a centrum.
We considered the centrum of the atlas as the odontoid
apophysis or the dens of the axis.
Each vertebral region has its own distinguishing features that are easily identifiable even in fragmentary bones
(Figs. 113).

The characteristic morphology of each vertebral ossification center keeps equal during the age range studied.
Younger skeletons show small and fragile ossification centers but the same anatomical landmarks can be seen at each
age (Fig. 14). Therefore, the morphology of vertebral bones
is not useful to recognize the stage of fetal development. The
only exception is the morphology show by the dens of the
axis.
The survey of measurements supports this statement
when confirming the isometric growth of fetal vertebral
ossification centers.
The dens of the axis, on the contrary, show an allometric
growth.
The dens of the axis present a particular behavior. The
changes in morphology combined with the allometric
growth could be the important factors in confirming the
viability of a fetus. The results show that changes in the dens
of the axis occur around 71/28 lunar months of age. If we
consider that a fetus has attained the age of viability at 210th
day of intrauterine life (that is 71/2 lunar months), the
morphology of the dens of the axis could be of great interest
in forensic investigations.
With our large sample size and the extension of the age
range studied (from 4 to 10 lunar months), we are able to
determine the fetal age with a considerable degree of
accuracy from measurements defined in the vertebral ossification centers using regression equations.
The regression equations obtained are proving to be
an effective method for age estimation during the whole
period of intrauterine development studied (Fig. 15)
[15].

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F. Ko sa, C. Castellana / Forensic Science International 147S (2005) S69S74

A simple and rapid method for the identification and

classification of fetal vertebral column bones has been
contributed. The identification and classification were carried out using discriminant functions obtained from neural
arches measurements. The application of discriminant functions obtained to an unknown fetal neural arch ossification
center permits identification on real quantitative data independently of the fetal age.

References
[1] I.G. Fazekas, F. Ko sa, Forensic Fetal Osteology, Akade miai
Kiado , Budapest, 1978.

[2] F. Ko sa, Age estimation from the fetal skeleton, in: M.Y. Iscan
(Ed.), Age Markers in the Human Skeleton, Charles C. Thomas,
Springfield, IL, 1989, pp. 2154.
[3] C. Castellana, F. Ko sa, Morphology of the cervical vertebrae in
the fetalneonatal human skeleton, J. Anat. 194 (1999) 147
152.
[4] C. Castellana, F. Ko sa, Estimation of fetal age from dimensions
of atlas and axis ossification centers, Forensic Sci. Int. 117
(2001) 3143.
[5] C. Castellana, F. Ko sa, A multivariate method for classifying
third to seventh cervical newborn vertebrae using bone measurements, J. Forensic Sci. 46 (2001) 162165.
[6] C. Castellana, Anatomy and anthropometry of human fetuses
and newborns vertebral column ossification centers. PhD Doctoral Dissertation. Barcelona, June 2002.