Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Forensic Microscopy for Skeletal Tissues pp 109–127Cite as

Rib Histomorphometry for Adult Age Estimation

  • Protocol
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 915))

Abstract

Estimating the age at death in the adult skeleton is problematic owing to the biological variability in morphological age indicators and the differential response to environmental factors over an individual’s life. It is becoming increasingly important for anthropologists to improve age estimates through the use of multiple age indicators and various modalities of assessment (e.g., macroscopic, microscopic, and radiological). Lack of instructional texts describing how to prepare histological samples and evaluate bone under the microscope has been a restricting factor in the widespread use of current histological methods within the field of forensic anthropology. The limited use of histological methods for age estimation often lies in the misunderstanding that the preparation and evaluation of cortical bone thin sections is a highly technical and an expensive endeavor. Like any method of age estimation, the researcher/practitioner must be guided through the analytical process to ensure reliable and repeatable results. This chapter provides a step-by-step instructional guide in the preparation and evaluation of histological samples removed from the sixth rib for histological age estimation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Protocol
USD   49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Springer Nature is developing a new tool to find and evaluate Protocols. Learn more

References

  1. Ahlqvist J, Damsten O (1969) A modification of Kerley’s method for microscopic determination of age in human bone. J Forensic Sci 14:205–212

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Cho H, Stout SD, Madsen RW, Streeter MA (2002) Population-specific histological age-estimating method: a model for known African-American and European-American skeletal remains. J Forensic Sci 47(1):12–18

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Clarke DF (1987) Histological and radiographic variation in the parietal bone in a cadaveric population. Thesis, Anatomy Department, The University of Queensland

    Google Scholar 

  4. Cool SM, Hendrikz JK, Wood WB (1995) Microscopic age changes in the human occipital bone. J Forensic Sci 40(5):789–796

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Curtis J (2004) Estimation of age at death from the microscopic appearance of the frontal bone. Masters Thesis, University of Indianapolis, Indiana

    Google Scholar 

  6. Ericksen MF (1991) Histological estimation of age at death using the anterior cortex of the femur. Am J Phys Anthropol 84:171–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kerley ER (1965) The microscopic determination of age in human bone. Am J Phys Anthropol 23:149–164

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kim Y, Kim D, Park D, Lee J, Chung N, Lee W, Han S (2007) Assessment of histomorphological features of the sternal end of the fourth rib for age estimation in Koreans. J Forensic Sci 52(6):1237–1241

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Singh IJ, Gunberg DL (1970) Estimation of age at death in human males from quantitative histology of bone fragments. Am J Phys Anthropol 33:373–382

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Stout SD (1986) The use of bone histomorphometry in skeletal identification: the case of Francisco Pizarro. J Forensic Sci 31(1):296–300

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Stout SD, Paine RR (1992) Brief communication: histological age estimation using rib and clavicle. Am J Phys Anthropol 87:111–115

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Stout SD, Dietz WH, Işcan MY, Loth SR (1994) Estimation of age at death using cortical histomorphometry of the sternal end of the fourth rib. J Forensic Sci 39(3):778–784

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Stout SD, Marchello AP, Perotti B (1996) Brief communication: a test and correction of the clavicle method of Stout and Paine for histological age estimation of skeletal remains. Am J Phys Anthropol 100:139–142

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Thompson DD (1979) The core technique in the determination of age at death in skeletons. J Forensic Sci 24(4):902–915

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Thompson DD, Galvin CA (1983) Estimation of age at death by tibial osteon remodeling in an autopsy series. Forensic Sci Int 22:203–211

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Yoshino M, Imaizumi K, Miyasaka S, Sueshige S (1994) Histological estimation of age at death using microradiographs of humeral compact bone. Forensic Sci Int 64:191–198

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Wu K, Schubeck H, Frost M, Villanueva A (1970) Haversian bone formation rates determined by a new method in a mastodon, and in human diabetes mellitus and osteoporosis. Calc Tissue Res 6:204–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Frost HM (1987) Secondary osteon populations: an algorithm for determining mean bone tissue age. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 30:221–238

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Frost HM (1987) Secondary osteon population densities: an algorithm for estimating missing osteons. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 30:239–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Dudar JC, Pfeiffer S, Saunders SR (1993) Evaluation of morphological and histological adult skeletal age-at-death estimation techniques using ribs. J Forensic Sci 38(3):677–685

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Crowder C (2005) Evaluating the use of quantitative bone histology to estimate adult age at death. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Toronto, Department of Anthropology

    Google Scholar 

  22. Crowder C, Rosella L (2006) Assessment of intra- and intercostal variation in rib histomorphometry: its impact on evidentiary examination. J Forensic Sci 52(2):271–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Frost HM (1958) Preparation of thin undecalcified bone sections by rapid manual method. Biotech Histochem 33(6):273–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Maat G, Van Den Bos R, Aarents M (2001) Manual preparation of ground sections for the microscopy of natural bone tissue: update and modification of Frost’s ‘rapid manual method’. Int J Osteoarchaeol 11(5):366–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Anderson C (1982) Manual for the examination of bone. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  26. Steadman D, DiAntonio L, Wilson J, Sheridan K, Tammariello S (2006) The effects of chemical and heat and maceration on the recovery of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA from bone. J Forensic Sci 51(1):11–17

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Fenton TW, Birkby WH, Cornelison JC (2003) A fast and safe nonbleaching method for forensic skeletal preparation. J Forensic Sci 48(2):274–276

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Rennick SL, Fenton TW, Foran DR (2005) The effects of skeletal preparation techniques on DNA from human and nonhuman bone. J Forensic Sci 50(5):1016–1019

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Pfeiffer S (2000) Palaeohistory: health and disease. In: Katzenberg MA, Saunders SR (eds) Biological anthropology of the human skeleton. Wiley-Liss Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  30. Frost HM (1969) Tetracycline based histological analysis of bone remodeling. Calcif Tissue Res 3:211–237

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Robling AG, Stout SD (2000) Histomorphometry of human cortical bone: applications to age estimation. In: Katzenburg MA, Saunders SR (eds) Biological anthropology of the human skeleton. Wiley-Liss Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  32. Giles E, Klepinger LL (1988) Confidence intervals for estimates based on linear regression in forensic anthropology. J Forensic Sci 33(5):1218–1222

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1995) Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research, 3rd edn. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Chief Medical Examiner, New York, NY, USA

    Christian Crowder

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Jarred Heinrich

  3. Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Sam D. Stout

Authors
  1. Christian Crowder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jarred Heinrich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sam D. Stout
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christian Crowder .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, University Drive 8888, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, British Columbia, Canada

    Lynne S. Bell

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this protocol

Cite this protocol

Crowder, C., Heinrich, J., Stout, S.D. (2012). Rib Histomorphometry for Adult Age Estimation. In: Bell, L. (eds) Forensic Microscopy for Skeletal Tissues. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 915. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-977-8_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-977-8_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-976-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-977-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation