closure time of spheno-occipital suture in the male cadavers referred to legal medicine organization

the identity of dead is an essential part of post-mortem examination. the identification of unknown human remnants begins with the creation of an anthropological profile, which includes sex, biological age, stature and individualizing features. the estimation of age at death is based on the bodily biological changes that occur throughout life. closure of spheno occipital synchondrosis is one of factors used for age estimation although its importance and reliability has been challenged with different authors. we studied its closure time among iranian 8 to 26 years old male cadavers with direct inspection during autopsy. we divided synchondrosis situation depending on its fusion state into three categories: open, semi closed and closed. during 2004-5, 106 cases studied. mean age of open, semi closed and closed were 12.78, 16.86 and 21.36 years, respectively. their difference was significant (p