Legal Medicine 15 (2013) 47–49

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Legal Medicine
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/legalmed

Brief Communication

Age-at-death estimation in Caucasian females from the morphological analysis

of the sternal end of the fourth rib
Andrea Verzeletti ⇑, Mauro Terlisio, Francesco De Ferrari
Istituto di Medicina Legale, Università degli Studi di Brescia, Piazzale Spedali Civili 1, 25123 Brescia, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The morphology evaluation of the sternal end of the fourth rib through the Is _ßcan’s ‘‘phases method’’ is
Received 11 June 2012 considered one of the most reliable method for age-at-death estimation of corpses of unknown identity.
Received in revised form 2 July 2012 This study aims to develop a component model for age estimation alternative to Is _ßcan’s method. A
Accepted 4 July 2012
numerical score, ranging from 3 to 9, was assigned based on the morphology of surface (S), antero/pos-
Available online 9 August 2012
terior walls (W) and articular margins (M) of the sternal end of the fourth rib in 71 white female corpse.
For each component a regression formula was determined. The best correlation between end rib mor-
Keywords:
phology and age-at-death was obtained through the formula of multiple regression with two indepen-
Fourth rib
Morphometric analysis
dent variables (articular surface and antero/posterior walls): Age (years) = 6.37(S) + 5.33(W) 
Age-at-death estimation 17.15 ± 3.3.
Ó 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In unknown bodies (skeletonized or in advanced putrefaction
conditions), the estimation of age is often very difficult. Is _ßcan
developed the so-called ‘‘phases method’’, one of the most reliable
indicator of age at death in adult skeleton: sternal end of the rib
shows morphological changes associated with biological aging
and Is_ßcan divided these changes into 9 phases, corresponding to
9 different age groups [1,2]. Is_ßcan provided a full description of
the characteristics of each phase and confirmed the reproducibility
of the results while other studies the accuracy of the method [3–7].
The aim of this study is to develop a model for determining the age
from morphological analysis of the sternal end of the fourth rib,
_ßcan’s ‘‘phases method’’, regarding a sample of
alternative to the Is
Caucasian females, considering that Caucasian males were already
investigated in our institution in a similar way [8].
2. Materials and methods
first soaking in water for several weeks, then boiling gently for
20–25 min to loosen the costal cartilage. Only right ribs were
investigated; this choice was due to uniform the analysis protocol.
Once cleaned, a score ranging from 3 to 9 was assigned accord-
ing to the morphology observed with increasing age in the articular
surface (S), antero/posterior walls (W) and articular margins (M) of
each specimen (see Figs. 1–3).
The different scores were first determined considering the
_ßcan’s ‘‘plates’’, than changing their value (above all for Is
Is _ßcan’s
‘‘plates’’ 1–4) once elaborated the regression formulae (see below).
Next step was based on the study of regression analysis be-
tween the dependent variable, represented by age, and one or
more independent variables represented by articular surface (S),
antero/posterior walls (W) and articular margins (M). Using the
scores obtained for each component, the expected age was esti-
mated by applying a single linear regression formula and a multi-
ple regression formula. The coefficient of determination (R2) was
calculated.

The sternal end of the right fourth rib was collected from 71
3. Results
Caucasian females of known age (age range: 22–88 years) autop-
sied at Brescia Forensic Medicine Institute during the period
Single linear regression formulae using the score obtained for
2008–2011 (Table 1). Each rib was separated from soft tissues by
the articular surface (S), antero/posterior walls (W) and margins
(M) were determined:

Age estimatedðyearsÞ ¼ 11:153ðSÞ  10:69  4:5 ðR2 ¼ 0:91Þ

Age estimatedðyearsÞ ¼ 11:617ðWÞ  11:95  4:7 ðR2 ¼ 0:89Þ
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 030 3995480; fax: +39 030 3995839.
E-mail address: verzelet@med.unibs.it (A. Verzeletti).
Age estimatedðyearsÞ ¼ 11:723ðMÞ  13:39  6:5 ðR2 ¼ 0:79Þ:

1344-6223/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.legalmed.2012.07.002
48 A. Verzeletti et al. / Legal Medicine 15 (2013) 47–49

Table 1
Frequency and percentage distribution of cases by age intervals. Antero / posterior walls (W)

Age intervals (years) N %

21–30 5 7.04
31–40 10 14.08 W=4 W=7
41–50 13 18.31
51–60 16 22.54
61–70 5 7.04
71–80 12 16.91
81–90 10 14.08
Total 71 100.00
W=5 W=8

Articular surface (S)

W = 5.5 W = 8.5

S=3 S=6

W=6 W=9

S = 3.5 S=7

Fig. 2. Antero/posterior walls: different score for different morphology.

S=4 S=8 Articular margins (M)

M=3 M=6

S=5 S=9

M=4 M=7
Fig. 1. Articular surface: different score for different morphology. The red line
points out the shape of the articular surface.

Multiple regression formula with two independent variables M = 4.5 M=8

[articular surface (S) and antero/posterior walls (W)] was calcu-
lated:
Age estimated (years) = 6.37(S) + 5.33(W)  17.15 ± 3.3 (R2 = 0.93).

4. Conclusions M=5 M=9

The technical reference models showed a good correlation with

age, both for articular surface (R2 = 0.91) and antero/posterior walls
(R2 = 0.89); a pretty good correlation was found between age and
margins, albeit with a lower coefficient of determination
(R2 = 0.79).
A multiple regression formula with two independent variables
such as articular surface (S) and antero/posterior walls (W) pro-
vided the best correlation through the formula:
Age (years) = 6.37(S) + 5.33(W) – 17.15 ± 3.3. (R = 0.93).
For a complete validation it is necessary to apply this model on
cadavers of known age by different operators, in order to confirm
the reproducibility of the results and to quantify any discrepancies
operator-dependent [9,10].
Fig. 3. Articular margins: different score for different morphology.
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 A. Verzeletti et al. / Legal Medicine 15 (2013) 47–49 49

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