The Reliability of the Greulich and Pyle Atlas When Applied to a Modern Scottish Population

Abstract

This study examines the reliability of age estimation utilizing the Greulich and Pyle atlas in relation to a modern Scottish population. A total of 406 left-hand/wrist radiographs (157 females and 249 males) were age-assessed using the Greulich and Pyle atlas. Analysis showed that there was a strong correlation between chronological age and estimated age (females R2 = 0.939, males R2 = 0.940). When age groups were broken down into year cohorts, the atlas over-aged females from birth until 13 years of age. The pattern for males showed that the atlas under-estimated age until 13 years of age after which point it consistently over-aged boys between 13 and 17 years of age. This study showed that the Greulich and Pyle atlas can be applied to a modern population but would recommend that any analysis takes into account the potential for over- and under-aging shown in this study.

The persistence of epiphyseal scars in the distal radius in adult individuals

“…a person whose status as an individual aged younger than 18 years of age is under dispute, attempting to enter a country without documentation; or an individual attempting to defeat the ends of justice by means of deception relating to their true age [21,39]. According to the recommendations of the working group on forensic age diagnostics (AGFAD), an estimation of age in living individuals in criminal proceedings should include an assessment of the skeletal development of the left hand and wrist [12,[40][41][42]. As the distal radius is the final component of this anatomical area to achieve skeletal maturity, this region has been considered in detail by a number of methods of skeletal age assessment [5,30,37,43].…”

A demonstration of appearance and union times of three shoulder ossification centers in adolescent and post-adolescent children

“…While the hand and wrist provides a great resource for estimating age at any time throughout the juvenile continuum, other joint regions may actually produce superior results during specific developmental periods geared towards their maturational activity. Recent research, in fact, suggests that variation in developmental timings is actually greater in the hand/wrist than in the foot/ankle and knee when utilizing a radiographic atlas technique for assigning age [14][15][16]). Additionally, the current authors are not aware of any research that validates the hand and wrist as the optimum joint for establishing whether a person has attained 16 or 18 years of age.…”

“…That being said, there has been a recent surge in research dedicated to this topic, focusing mostly on the bones of the hand and wrist, foot and ankle, knee, medial clavicle and iliac crest [1,14,15,16,8,22,23,42,38,2,25].…”

The epiphyseal scar: changing perceptions in relation to skeletal age estimation

“…Radiographic methods of assessment, such as those relating to the hand and wrist (Andersen, 1971, Büken et al, 2009, Bull et al, 1999, Greulich and Pyle, 1950, 1959, Hackman and Black, 2013b, Schmeling et al, 2006, Schmidt et al, 2007, Schmidt et al, 2008b, Tanner et al, 2001, Tanner et al, 1962, Tanner et al, 1975, Thiemann and Nitz, 1991, Vignolo et al, 1992, elbow (Brodeur, 1981, Diméglio et al, 2005, Sauvegrain et al, 1962 , knee Black, 2013a, Pyle andHoerr, 1969), and foot and ankle , Hoerr et al, 1962 have undergone extensive testing on additional populations.…”