Determination of age by radiological examination of shoulder joint

Abstract

Aim of the study was to estimate the age of an individual from the fusion of the secondary ossification center of the shoulder joint. The study was conducted on 60 subjects who were randomly selected from various schools as well as the cases attending the outpatient Department of General Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Madras Medical College, Chennai. After obtaining written consent from each individual, radiological examination was done. After the statistical analysis it was observed that in the age group 16-17 males, there were no complete union, among females in the same age group. It was 30%, in the age group 17-18, percentage of complete union was 30.76 among males and 40% among females, in the age group 18-19, percentage of complete union was 33.33% among males and 50% among females.It was concluded that the age of complete fusion of epiphysis of the shoulder joint was 17-18 years for males and 16-17 years for females and the earliest union occurred at the age of 15 years in females and 17 years in males which was higher than the previous studies