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This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of an age estimation method based on the pulp⁄tooth area ratio by assessing intra- and inter-examiner agreement across five observers at different intervals. Using the same X-ray device and technical parameters, 96 digital periapical X-ray images of upper and lower canines were obtained from 28 deceased people in Central America, whose age at death ranged from 19 to 49 years. Excellent and good agreement of results were achieved, and there were no statistically significant differences. The R2 value for upper teeth (54.0%) was higher than the R2 value for lower teeth (45.7%). The highest intraclass correlation coefficient value was 0.995 (0.993-0.997) and the lowest 0.798 (0.545-0.895). Inter-examiner agreement was high with values of 0.975 (0.965-0.983) and 0.927 (0.879-0.955). This method is adequate for assessing age in missing and unidentified people, including victims of mass disasters., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The aim of the investigation is to study the possibility of using artificial intelligence technologies for age prediction based on CT studies of some structures of the skull and cervical vertebrae., Material and Methods: The study included 223 tomograms of the head and neck in sagittal projection from patients without any pathology of the studied structures. Morphometric analysis was carried out using PjaPro and Gradient programs, statistical analysis was performed by SPSS Statistics software. A fully convolutional EfficientNet-B2 neural network was used, which was trained in two stages: selection of the area of interest and solution of regression tasks., Results: Morphometric assessment and subsequent statistical analysis of the selected group of features have shown presence of the strongest correlation with age in the indicator characterizing the involution of the median atlantoaxial joint. A deep learning method using the convolutional network, which automatically selects the desired area in the image (the area of the vertebral junction), classifies the sample, and makes an assumption about the age of the unknown individual with an accuracy of 7.5 to 10.5 years has been tested., Conclusion: As a result of the study, a positive experience has been obtained indicating the possibility of using convolutional neural networks to determine the age of the unknown person, which expands the evidence base and provides new opportunities for determining group-wide personality traits in forensic medicine., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

The assessment of majority age is important for determining legal responsibility. The definition of the 3rd molar maturity index (Im3) have proven to be a simple and effective method of majority age establishment, the accuracy of which has been tested in different populations. There is a clear lack of studies in this scientific area in Russia., Objective: To test diagnostic accuracy of majority age assessment method by 3rd molar (Cameriere index) in the Ufa sample., Material and Methods: The number of orthopantomograms equal 120 from males and females aged from 14 to 23 years without apparent pathological changes of the pulp of teeth 38 and 48 was examined. The measures were conducted using the standard R. Cameriere method. The method of logistic regression, determination of predictive values of sensitivity and specificity were used., Results: The Im3 cut-off point, that was equal 0.08, had a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 95% in the male sample, accuracy of age group determination was 93%. In the female sample the method sensitivity was 93%, specificity - 97%, accuracy - 97%., Conclusion: The study results confirmed the absence of population variability of the Cameriere index value, that makes it possible to use the majority age determination method by 3rd molar for practical application in the examination of a living person at the territory of the Russian Federation.

Objective: To analyze the contribution of alcohol and drug intoxication to fatal occupational injuries and sudden death at the workplace in Moscow., Material and Methods: A number of death cases of various organizations' employees equal 357 in Moscow in 2023 were investigated. The mean age of the deceased was 48.29±13.9 years, 92.4% of them were men., Results: Ethanol in blood has been determined in 15% of the deceased. Narcotic drugs and psychotropic medications have been found in 6.7% of cases. Signs of chronic intoxication have been established in 16.5% of the deceased. Chronic intoxication accompanied or aggravated the course of 70% of cardiomyopathies. The proportion of deceased in an accident at an industry or construction site equal 23.9%, as well as 1 / 2 of the deceased in an accident on the street and in a residential building were impaired by alcohol., Conclusion: The study of the contribution of alcohol and drug consumption to occupational mortality will allow to plan measures for reducing the mortality of working-age population.

Objective: To study the sternum ossification processes that take place over time as well as the possibilities of sternum X-rays application to evaluate the age on the modern Russian population in forensic terms., Material and Methods: Sternum X-rays with fragments of ribs' chondral parts were obtained from 369 male and female corpses aged 12-96 years without pathological and traumatic changes. The X-rays were done in frontal projection. The set of examined parameters included: complete and partial synostosis of manubrium and body, induration along the synostosis (or on the articulated edges of manubrium and body), complete and partial synostosis of body segments, traces of body segments union, complete and partial synostosis of body and xiphoid process, induration along the synostosis (or on the articulated edges of manubrium and body), form of costal notches, induration of articular edges of body, presence of calcification foci in sternal edge of II-VII ribs' cartilages, depth of sternum notches, overgrowths on articular edges of body, presence of union between body's costal notches and calcification centers of ribs' cartilages. Mean values, standard deviation and correlation coefficient were determined., Results: The maximal correlation with age was found in such parameters such: overgrowths on articular edges of body ( r =0.6), presence of calcification foci in sternal edge of II-VII ribs ( r =0.6), induration of body's articular edges ( r =0.5), presence of union between costal notches and calcification centers of ribs cartilages ( r =0.5), synostosis of body and xiphoid process ( r =0.4)., Conclusion: A subsequent construction of linear model for age diagnosis has its details when comparing the predicted age with the real.

Objective: To study forensic characteristic of drowning mortality cases in the Russian Federation for the period from 2013 to 2022., Material and Methods: Dynamics and territorial specificity of drowning (in absolute values and in terms of 100 thous. population), proportion of histological examinations, cases of ethanol detection in the blood upon the occurrence of death by drowning and the proportion of children under 14 years among deceased from drowning., Results and Conclusion: The evidence suggests the necessity for intersectoral approaches of preventive measures creation. The results of the study could be used to establish a monitoring system as part of a national water safety strategy.

Identification of a person by general group characteristics does not lose its relevance over a long period. An analysis of publications (2000-2023) devoted to the possibilities of using the sternum to determine gender and age showed a fairly large amount of work on this topic, with very promising results. The trend in the development of this area is the use of modern methods of medical imaging. This becomes the starting point for conducting such studies on the territory of the Russian Federation and developing a methodology that includes the Russian population, taking into account their population characteristics.

The article presents the experience of artificial intelligence application in research process. The article contains general information about basic concepts of machine learning (clustering and visualization), as well as considers more detaily an experience of clinical testing. The effectiveness of applying Data Analysis methods and means as one of the research stages is demonstrated on the example of a case on processing medical information using algorithms of machine learning: solving the problem on diagnostic value of the proposed indicator (FTF) for determining target age groups. Implementation of such approach of digital transformation improves the operational effectiveness of researches, as well as quality and availability of final technological products being developed - software for solving expert problems.

The objective of the study is to examine the death incidence from mechanical asphyxia in the Russian Federation in the period from 2013 to 2022 yr., to determine the dynamics of changes in indicators of its main types and to reveal territorial specificity. The results obtained with the use of medical statistics methods can be applied to implement measures for health protection, prevent risk factors of fatal outcome among population, to improve the training of forensic medical experts.

Interest in the topic of age assessment for forensic medical identification of personality has not decreased for over the past decade. Establishing an exact age have a critical importance for law enforcement authorities, for example in case of wrongdoing by illegal migrants without identity documents. The search and systemic analysis of published researches devoted to age assessment by dental status in children and adolescents with subsequent updating of the directions of development in this scientific subject theme and the possibility of their realization in practice in the Russian Federation were carried out in order to have an objective concept of used methods of dental status assessment in the world practice.

Scientists are interested in determining age in subadults for several forensic purposes. High- resolution instrumental techniques are being increasingly used for age estimation, driven by the need to minimize errors; in this context, several studies have focused on the knee joint, recognized as a potential site for age examination in late adolescence. We analyzed 200 CT scans performed on Russian subjects (106 males and 94 females) between 13 and 20 years, without growth diseases, endocrine disorders, or osteodystrophy. Each subject underwent two scans, one for each leg. Two indicators were measured for each bone (femur, tibia and fibula): the entire length of the epiphyseal scar and the length of the part/s that is/are fused with metaphysis. Intra class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was performed to evaluate the intra-operator reproducibility. The ratio between the two lengths was calculated for each bone (FemurR, TibiaR and FibulaR). The first aim was to evaluate a correlation between the ratios of the three bones and the three bones treated as a single parameter (given by the sum of the ratios) versus age. The results showed good correlations in both cases (τ a  = 0.74, 0.64, 0.57 and 0.67). The second aim was to estimate the cut-offs derived from the sum of the three ratios respect to four age classes (14-15 years: cut-off ≤ 0.63, 15-16 years: cut-off ≤ 1.19, 16-17 years: cut-off ≥ 0.68 and 17-18 years: cut-off ≥ 1.49. The results from this research encourage further studies of the knee joint as an indicator of legal adult age., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The article presents the results of the study of quantitative indicators and analytical compilation of forensic medical expert practice data in terms of the age of living persons in Russia examination as a whole and in individual federal districts and subjects of Russia in the period from 2003 to 2021. It has been established that against the background of the rather low number of expert examinations, performed to determine the living persons age, there has been an increase in this indicator since 2018, mainly due to the Central Federal District. Regional differences in the studied indicators were identified. A systematic survey study of literature (electronic search of publications in PubMed, Science Direct Scopus and eLIBRARY databases) was conducted on the issue of forensic medical assessment of living persons' age, including the methodical support of this examination type, to form an idea of existing scientific clusters. Search modes allowed to form an array of 184 publications indexed in the database Scopus, PubMed, and 8 publications presented in Russian Science Citation Index. The study results were used as a predictor of the efficacy of the package of measures to modernize this type of expert study. The proposed set of measures to improve the scientific and methodical support of forensic medical examination for age establishment will optimize practical activities and increase the evidential efficacy of expert opinions.

The Aim of the Study: Was to conduct the comparative analysis of the age groups' separation accuracy (<18 years old; ≥18 years old) by orthopantomogram depending on the examination's side in Russian population sample. The number of orthopantomograms equal 600 (190 of male and 410 of female) aged from 14 to 23 were investigated. Index value of third molar (Im 3 ) was calculated by the R. Cameriere method, in female and male, on the right and left sides. Index of third molar on the right and left sides shows a high correlation. In the male sample the result specificity was 0.97 on the left and 1.0 on the right, the sensitivity was 0.96 on the left and 0.94 on the right. In the female sample the values were as follows: the specificity was 0.96 on the left and 0.98 on the right, the sensitivity was 0.92 on the left and 0.94 on the right. The results showed the possibility of Im 3 (0.08) use to determine the target age group for Russian citizens of both sexes regardless of examination side.

The paper presents the results of a histomorphometric study of age-related changes in hyaline cartilage tissue by the example of studying cricoid cartilage from 88 corpses of males of various ages. A comparative assessment of the parameters between the groups was carried out and the dynamics of age-related changes in the main ones was studied. As a result of the studies, the greatest correlation with age was recorded in the following indicators: length (r=0,88) and width (r=0,89) of the ossification zone, the area of bone (r=0,87), adipose (r=0,77) and reticular tissue (r=0,86), the number of chondroblasts (r=-0,7). It was found that the transformations of cricoid cartilage occurring with age are characterized by a decrease in the area of cartilage tissue, the average number of chondrocytes and chondroblasts also tends to decrease steadily with increasing age. Age-related bone tissue transformations are characterized by an increase in the area of bone tissue and the transformation of the tissue structure itself: the number of bone beams and their dimensional characteristics (length and width) change. The results of the study allow us to evaluate the age dynamics of quantitative markers of involution processes of hyaline cartilage tissue in men by the example of studying cricoid cartilage and supplement the existing ideas about the pathogenesis of age-associated cartilage diseases.

Age assessment of living persons plays an important role in clinical and sports medicine, as well as in law practice. Traditional methods have a number of problems: age restrictions, technical difficulties of visualization, low reproducibility and subjectivity of estimation. The proposed approach, which implies the use of multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) and database mining, will eliminate these drawbacks and improve the estimation of age. The aim of the study was to investigate the use of deep learning algorithms to classify the age groups (with a threshold level of 18 years) for CT images of knee joint. The study included 455 MSCT images of the knee joint of male and female subjects aged from 13 to 24. The method included score assessment of the distal femur's epiphyseal synostosis stages, tibia and fibula proximal epiphyses and a preliminary statistical analysis of correlations between age and stages of synostosis. The challenge of binary classification of target age groups with the use of convolutional neural networks was implemented at the second phase of the trial. Various architectures of convolutional neural networks and their ensembles were tested. The result of the study showed that the total score of epiphyseal synostosis has the highest correlation with the age ( r =0.88). The proposed method of chronological age assessment on the basis of the knee area CT images research using deep learning algorithms demonstrated a good result. The classification accuracy (threshold level of 18 years) was 0.86.

A historical and medical study of preconditions and circumstances of the forensic anthropology establishment is presented. Official demographic statistics and P.A. Minakov's scientific publication on anthropology and forensic medicine were used. The circumstances of forensic anthropology occurrence (a new scientific direction in forensic medicine) were studied. The precondition of its appearance was a strong migration process, with a prevalent concentration of population in large industrial cities. The fact that studied occurrence took place in Moscow can be explained by the high level of development of the anthropological school at Moscow University, and by the fact that one of its leaders, P.A. Minakov, simultaneously headed the university's department of forensic medicine. The idea of anthropology scientific integration into forensic medicine, which was successfully implemented at the Forensic Medicine Department of the Moscow University, belonged to him.

The Aim of the Study: Was to develop the age determination's technology by the morphometric features of the human cricoid cartilage using a regression analysis method. Cricoid cartilages of 65 variously-aged males were examined. The number of histomorphometric parameters equal 16 for each sample were determined and measured on the histological sections. A descriptive statistical processing of data using the regression analysis method was done, as a result of which the model of age determination was developed. This model has a high predictive accuracy, where the prediction error was less than 5 years in 64.62% of cases. The practical use of this model may be limited by the morphometric parameters' number translating complication to calculate the formula. The developed method can be improved while increasing the sample and conducting further statistical processing, and in the future it can be used in the age determination in forensic medical examination.

A comprehensive analysis of research and development results of Sechenov University forensic medicine department for the last 5 years (from 2018 to 2022) was performed. The thematic structure and citation indices of scientific publications were presented. The most promising directions of the department's research activities were identified.

The article presents the results of scientometric analysis of theses, defended in the period from 1800 to 2020 yrs. on the «Forensic medicine» specialty, which are devoted to personality identification. Based on the analysis of defended theses for a significant period of time, a change of scientific directions was established and their dynamics, main tendencies and prospects were revealed. This allowed to determine the potential vector of research development on the forensic medical identification of personality. The conducted research can be used as a scientific and theoretical basis for predicting the relevance of future scientific investigations.

One of the most common scientific methods to study the chemical composition of bone matter is energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). However, interpretation of the data obtained can be quite complicated and require a thorough understanding of bone structure. This is especially important when evaluating subtle changes of chemical composition, including the age-related ones. The aim of current study is to create a method of processing the obtained data that can be utilized in clinical medicine and use it to evaluate the age evolution of bone chemical composition. To achieve this goal, an elemental composition of 62 samples of cadaver compact bone, taken from the skull base (age: Me = 57.5; 21/91(min/max); Q1 = 39.5, Q3 = 73.75), was studied with EDS. We used the original method to estimate the amount of Mg 2+ cations. We detected and confirmed an increase of Mg 2+ cation formula amount in the bone apatite, which characterizes age-related resorption rate. Analysis of cation estimated ratio in a normative bone hydroxylapatite showed an increase of Mg 2+ amount (R = 0.43, p = 0.0005). Also, Ca weight fraction was shown to decrease with age (R = - 0.43, p = 0.0005), which in turn confirmed the age-dependent bone decalcification. In addition, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were performed. EDS data confirmed the EPMA results (R = 0.76, p = 0.001). In conclusion, the proposed method can be used in forensic medicine and provide additional data to the known trends of decalcification and change of density and crystallinity of mineral bone matter., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Numerous studies have been conducted by using sophisticated methodologies for the deduction of range in cases of firearm injuries. However, the stark dearth of literature for similar purpose by just simple analysis of blood traces on items of clothing is astonishing., Purpose: This study was done to determine the relationship between range of a rifled firearm and blood traces on the clothing of victims in firearm injuries., Methodology: Simulation experiments were performed by firing test shots in closed shooting range by using a Glock 17 pistol (9 mm luger) into pieces of clothing soaked with sheep blood. A total of 132 shots were fired. The morphologies and amount of blood spatter formed over a range varying from 5 cm to 100 cm (shooting angle-90°) were studied., Results: An inverse relationship was found to exist between morphology of blood traces produced on the target and the distance of the shot fired. The misting and micro-blood spatters were recorded at a range of 5-60 cm. The distance from which shots were fired carried significant impact on the appearance and density of the spray and the blood spatter., Conclusions: The results provide a scientifically determined, statistically valid and simple equation formula in the most cost effective and easy manner for the deduction of range by mere examination of clothing in cases of firearm injuries. The requirements of the sacrifice of animals, and/or extrapolation of the results to humans by conducting experiments using hypothetical targets were also obviated in this study., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This article presents the results of the study of the quantitative performance indicators of medical forensic departments of state forensic medical expert institutions in Russia as a whole and in individual federal districts from 2009 to 2018. Medical statistics methods were used. We analyzed absolute and intensive indicators, their percentages, and correlation relationships. Trends and patterns were studied to identify causal relationships and assess the effect of various factors. A steady trend of reducing the total number of expert examinations performed in the medical forensic departments was shown. However, their share of the total number of violent death cases is increasing. The labor intensity of medical forensic examinations and the number of examination methods used are increasing. Regional differences in the studied indicators are revealed. The presented metadata can be used to improve the workflow management of forensic medical departments and monitor the effectiveness of improvements. The findings confirm the need to modernize and adapt the regulatory and procedural framework of the expert work.

The aim of the study was to assess the capabilities of age determination (age group) at death using classification techniques by histomorphometric characteristics of osseous and cartilaginous tissue aging., Materials and Methods: The study material was a database containing the findings of morphometric researches of osseous and cartilaginous tissue histologic specimens from 294 categorized male corpses aged 10-93 years. For data analysis and classification we used modern machine learning methods: k-NN, SVM, logistic regression, CatBoost, SGD, naive Bayes, random forest, nonlinear dimensionality reduction methods (t-SNE and uMAP), and recursive feature elimination for feature selection., Results: The used techniques (algorithms) provided effective representation of a complex data set (76 histomorphometric features), allowing to reveal the cluster structure inside the low dimensional feature space, thus fitting the classifier becomes even more reasonable. During feature selection, we estimated their importance for age group classification and studied the relationship between classification quality and the number of features inside the feature space. Data pre-processing made it possible to get rid of noise and keep most informative features, thereby accelerating a learning process and improving the classification quality. Data projection showed more well-defined cluster structure in the space of selected features. The accuracy of establishing certain groups was equal to 90%. It proves high efficiency of machine learning techniques used for forensic age diagnostics based on histomorphometric findings., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest. The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to the present study.

The paper presents the results of an epidemiological analysis of statistical data on the number of deaths from violent deaths, which cause has not been established; unidentified and unclaimed corpses in forensic medical expertise in Russia as a whole and in individual federal districts for the period from 2009 to 2018. Percentage indicators and share values of the circumstances due to which the death cause was not established are given. It was found that on the basis of a steady decreasing trend in number of violent deaths, the number of corpses with an unknown death cause is growing, mainly due to putrefactive changes in corpses of adults and due to the burning of children corpses. The presence of a strong correlation between the number of unclaimed and unidentified corpses with the number of forensic medical expertise, when the cause of death was not established, was shown. Based on the analysis results at the macro level (federal districts), some interregional differences in the structure of the analyzed indicators were revealed. The results obtained make it possible to confirm the relevance of existing clusters of scientific research and to form new ones, to place accents in the directions of the postgraduate education of specialists.

The Aim of the Study: Is to establish the morphometric features of the human cricoid cartilage structure using anthropometric research. Cricoid cartilage was examined from 37 men and 30 women. Using an electronic caliper and scales, 17 metric parameters and the mass of the cricoid cartilage were established, and a statistical analysis of the results obtained was carried out. It was found that the greatest relationship with the gender had the following dimensions: the distance from the upper outer edge of the plate to the outer edge of the arch and the height of the cricoid cartilage plate, the distance between the arytenoid articular surfaces, and the mass of cricoid cartilage. The data obtained confirmed the gender dimorphism of the cricoid cartilage. The data of this study can be used in expert practice for forensic medical identification of a person.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the accuracy of the third molar maturity index ( I 3M ) cut-off value (0.08) to distinguish between individuals above and below the adult age of legal responsibility (18 years) in a Russian population. A sample of 571 digital panoramic radiographs of healthy Russian minors and young adults (363 females and 208 males), aged between 14 and 24 years, was evaluated. The lower left third molars were analyzed by applying the cut-off value of 0.08 determined by Cameriere et al. (2008). Lin's concordance correlation coefficient ( ρ c ) and Cohen's kappa coefficient ( κ ) showed that repeatability and reproducibility are high for both intra- and interobserver errors. The I 3M value decreased with age in both sexes. Age distribution gradually decreases as I 3M increases in both girls and boys. In the male group, molar maturity stages 0-0.04, 0.04-0.08, 0.08-0.3, 0.3-0.5, and 0.9-1.4 were reached slightly earlier than in the female group. The results demonstrated that sensitivity is 0.96 in boys and 0.93 in girls; associated specificity values were both 0.98. The cut-off value of I 3M is statistically robust and thus valid for forensic application in a Russian population to determine whether or not a subject has reached 18 years of age. Finally, we compared our results with those of other studies in which the same I 3M cut-off value was tested on different populations. The method is novel as it is reliable and easily reproducible, thus ensuring a universal way of comparing the results obtained (based on a cut-off value) among many populations, in order to develop an ever-increasing database., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article., (Copyright © 2020 Roberto Scendoni et al.)

The aim of the study is to analyze the features of commissioning and conducting the forensic situational studies and expertises and to consider variants for their practical implementation. The importance of a situational analysis when conducting various types of forensic medical expertises is considered. The variants for conducting situational studies and situational expertises in practical work are proposed.

This paper presents a review of modern fundamental research studies investigating the age-related changes of connective, cartilage, nervous and bone tissues. A methodological and mathematical basis for the analysis of the obtained results is proposed. The conducted analysis enabled the formulation of a new scientific direction - the forensic medical determination of age in the identification of individuals in emergency situations with mass casualties. A scientifically grounded theory of digital forensic diagnostics of age, general regularities of development and some differences of age adaptation of connective, cartilage, nervous and bone tissues, including the phenomena of heterochronicity, heterotopy and heterogeneity resulted. The results of this research determine the direction of further research by improving the methods of quantitative age morphology, molecular autopsy, digital technologies and the formation of a technologically based concept for the registration of identifying biological features.

The analysis of the publications of the journal "Forensic medical examination" in the field of research «identification» for the period from 1980 to 2018 is carried out. Using the scientometric method, we studied the dynamics of publications on the study of the development of the scientific direction in order to objectively evaluate its relevance and possible prospects. The results of the analytical study demonstrated a wide range of objects and research methods. The leading scientific development trends in the field of forensic medical identification of the person are established.

In medical literature there is no single detailed standard for studying the biochemical composition of a tooth. This circumstance led to the development of a proprietary method for determining the enantiomers of aspartic acid in hard dental tissues for use in the further study of the relationship between the amino acid composition of dental tissues and the biological age of humans. Dental tissue samples obtained from living individuals aged from 20 to 50 years were studied by chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results of the study allowed us to put forward a number of practical recommendations on the standardization of the procedure for the preparation of dental tissue samples and the parameters of chromatography-mass spectrometry research.

This paper demonstrates the need for an integrated approach to improve the accuracy of corpse age calculation based on measurements of a heterogeneous nature and conditions of partially distorted or incomplete data, using modern information intelligent technologies. A generalized algorithm developed on the basis of various mathematical methods of primary data processing and the extraction of different structures is presented, in addition to the reliability of the information.

The present article was designed to summarize the results of the 20 year scientific, practical, and educational activities of the Department of Forensic Medicine, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenovsky University). The main directions of the research work and achievements of the Department's staff are described, and the prospects for its further development are highlighted. The new approaches to and technologies for the teaching and training specialists in forensic medicine are introduced to meet the novel requirements imposed in the framework of the ongoing reform of higher medical education in accordance with the main principles of the Bologna declaration.

The objective of the present study was to determine the biological age of the unidentified dead subjects based on the morphometric characteristics of the sella turcica in comparison with other methods available for the purpose in order to narrow the range of the alleged ages of the human remains being examined. The parameters of the sella turcica were measured in the corpses immediately after cephalotomy provided no pathological changes could be identified in the sellar region. A total of 86 skulls of the Caucasoid subjects representing the Eastern-Slavic group at the age varying from 22 to 87 years were available for the examination. The study has demonstrated the undulating dynamics of dimensional characteristics of the sellae turcica during the course of a lifetime. The regression analysis was employed to predict the age of the subjects above 22 years of age based on the measurements of the length and depth of the sella turcica and to classify the sample of interest within a given age period. It is concluded that the morphometric characteristics of the sells turcica can be used as the additional clues for the purpose of age determination in forensic medical investigations.

The objective of the present study was to determine the biological age of the unrecognized individuals based on the analysis of CT-scanograms of the skull and the craniovertebral region in the sagittal projection. We investigated the structure of the spongy substance of the clinoid plate of the sella turcica and the clivus of the cranium, involution of the vertebrae configuration in the medial atlantoaxial articulation, frontal and sphenoidal sinuses. A total of 80 skulls of Caucasoid individuals at the age ranging from 4 to 84 years belonging to an Eastern Slavonic population (free from the pathological lesions in the above cranial structures) were available for the examination. The results of the multifactorial analysis gave evidence of the possibility to estimate the age of individual subjects based on the comprehensive aggregate qualitative and quantitative characteristic in the framework of the linear regression model by making use of the age-related changes in the frontal and sphenoidal sinuses, the sella turcica and the clivus of the cranium, the first and the second cervical vertebrae with an accuracy to within 6 years. It is concluded that the application of the systems for the automated statistical analysis of the images for the purposes of forensic medical expertise would allow to obtain the results of great practical and scientific value.

The objective of the present study was the development of the diagnostic model for determining the human age based on the results of the comprehensive examination of the 230 thyroid cartilages (TC) obtained from the corpses of men and women of different age. TC were examined with the use of the anthropometric, X-ray, and histological methods. The anthropometric investigations confirmed the gender-related differences in the structure of human TC. Various characteristics of TC were shown to correlate with the age but these relationships were rather weak even if formally significant. The X-ray studies of TC have revealed the significant correlation of the relative amount of the bone tissue on the images with the age (r=0.8). Of the 27 parameters subjected to the morphometric evaluation, the following ones were shown to significantly correlates with the age: percentage of the bony (r=0,82) and cartilaginous (r=-0.8) tissue areas, average density of the adipose (r=0.76) and reticular (r=0.7) tissues, the maximum length of trabeculae (r=0.67), the width of the mature cartilage zone (r=0.54), the cortical plate thickness (r=0.5), and the mean number of immature chondrocytes in the field of vision (r=0.5). The comprehensive investigation into the structure of the human thyroid cartilage provided a basis for the development of the method for determining the human age with the use of the linear regression equations. It is concluded that the proposed method can be employed as an additional diagnostic tool for determining the human age for the purposes of forensic medical expertise and personality identification.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the age-specific changes in the skin at the anterior forearm surface of the men based on the results of the examination of 100 masculine corpses at the age varying from 18 to 80 years with the application of the low invasive techniques. The ultrasonograms were used to identify the qualitative characteristics of each skin layer being visualized with special reference to the thickness and echogenic properties of dermis and epidermis. The following parameters of the age-related changes in the skin microrelief were considered to be of particular interest: Volume (the volume of skin irregularities), SR (skin roughness), SW (skin wrinkling), and SS (skin smoothness). The qualitative characteristics of the age-specific changes in the skin as well as the parameters of its relief recorded during the ultrasound scanning can be used to comprehensively evaluate its age-related condition for the purpose of determination of the biological age of non-identified individuals. The calculation of the squared coefficient of correlation between the age-specific parameters of the skin and their changes taking into consideration the autosolvability requirements made it possible to predict the subject's age with a mean error of around 2.22 years.

The study presents the results of a complex histomorphometric research of the features of the age-related dynamics of bone tissue. As a study material we used samples of the distal epiphysis and diaphysis of the left tibia from 348 corpses of males with a known age from 0 to 90 years. A group of microosteometric features, that have the strongest correlation with age, is established in different age groups; their quantitative characteristics are given. It is clarified that the trends of age-related changes in the structural components of bone tissue correspond to the basic patterns of growth, remodeling, depend on the species and their localization. Conceptual positions of age involution of bone tissue are proposed.

The objective of the present work was the immunohistochemical evaluation of the age-related dynamics of apoptosis-associated proteins contained in the human skin epidermis. We studied the samples of skin tissues obtained during the forensic medical expertises of 100 corpses of the subjects who died in the consequence of acute blood loss in the absence of injuries or pathological changes in the skin (56 men and 44 women at the age varying from 5 to 85 years). The results of this study give evidence that the histoimmunological investigations of the skin tissues can be carried out with the use of the mmunohistochemical Ki67, bcl-2, and p53 markers for the more accurate determination of the biological age of the deceased subjects. The quantitative characteristics thus obtained serve as reliable indicators of the chronic changes in the skin and can be used as the components of the combined diagnostic procedures.

The increasingly greater requirements for the new approaches to the forensic medical personality identification necessitate the extensive search for and the development of the precise methods enabling the experts to determine the general personality signs in the cases of mass mortality and the large number of victims with the conspicuous post-mortem changes in their appearance including those associated with putrefaction and strong fragmentation of the bodies. This article presents the analytical review demonstrating that determination of the victims' age in the combination with the analysis of the amino acid composition of dental tissues provides a promising tool for the investigations not only in the fields of archeology and anthropology but also for the purpose of personality identification in forensic medicine.

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the morphological and morphometric characteristics of the human thyroid cartilage during different periods of life. The thyroid cartilages were harvested from 70 cadavers of the subjects of the masculine gender who had died at the age from 1 to 93 years from the non-violent causes and had neither injuries nor signs of pathological changes in the neck organs. The microscopic studies were carried out using the standard methods for the staining of the preparations with hematoxylin and eosin. The following parameters were evaluated: the area of the cartilaginous and bone tissues, the average area of the cartilaginous and bone tissues in the field of vision, the average width of the cartilaginous plate, the thickness of the cortical plate, the number of trabeculae, the average area and length of the trabeculae, the average, minimal, and maximum area of the trabeculae, the number of the young and mature chondrocytes, the width of the zones of the young and mature cartilage and their ratio, the area of the reticular-fibrous and adipose tissues and their ratio. In addition, we also determined mean values, standard deviations, correlation coefficients, and the significance of differences (p). The following characteristics exhibited the most significant correlation with the age: the average area of the bone (r=0.69) and cartilaginous (r=-0.63) tissues, adipose (r=0.67) and reticular fibrous (r=0.61) tissues, the average length of the trabeculae (r=0.7), the number of young chondrocytes in the field of vision (r=-0.789). It is concluded that the described correlations can be helpful in the practical forensic medical activities as the additional diagnostic criteria for the determination of the human age.

This article is designed to report the results of analysis of the literature publications concerning age-specific changes in the configuration of the sella turcica, frontal and sphenoid sinuses during the life span of a human being. It is shown that the subjects above the age of 20-25 years undergo age-dependent variations of the morphometric characteristics of the sella turcica, frontal and sphenoid sinuses. It suggests the necessity of the further development of the research methods with a view to increasing the number of techniques used in forensic medicine designed to enhance the accuracy of estimation of the human biological age.

The present review article is designed to analyse the current state-of-the-art in the field of diagnostics of the main morphological and functional parameters characterizing the involutional processes in the facial skin. The possibilities of the practical application of the available non-invasive methods for the evaluation of the age of the living people in the framework of the forensic medical identification expertise are considered. The main problems and vectors of the further development of methodological approaches to the determination of the biological age based on the results of the studies of skin and its appendages are discussed.

The present paper reports an attempt to determine the biological age in man based on the results of the studies of the capillary bed of the cerebral cortex in different periods of postnatal ontogenesis (from 1 month to 83 years). The material was investigated by histological and histochemical methods. It is concluded that the data obtained concerning the structural and functional changes in the capillaries of different regions of the olfactory brain can be used for the personality identification for the purpose of forensic medical expertise.

This review of the literature analyzes the current state of a problem of application of various morphological methods for the investigation of age-related involution of human bone system and their use in the course of forensic personality identification. The difficulties of the application of the available methods of quantitative morphology in determination of biological age, are emphasized. The possibilities of the practical use of radiological methods to study the skeleton, including the determination of the bone mineral density as an indicator of age-related changes of bone tissue, are analyzed. An ambiguity of the research results obtained is noted, and the possible reasons for and the factors contributing to the results variability are considered. It is concluded that the application of computer tomogram densitometry to the various regions of the bone skeleton in complex with some other methods, is promising for the determination of age interval in forensic identification examinations.

The principal characteristics of the investigations concerning estimation of the human age are presented. The new high-precision methods for the microosteometric determination of the biological age of man have been developed. The methodological basis for the application of microosteomeric data to the computer-assisted analysis of the images has been created. Taken together, the results of the present study guarantee the high accuracy of the measurements, save labour time, and expand the possibilities for the documentation and control of the experts' work.

The technology of education for adult subjects, i.e. the scientifically-sound system of andragogic principles for the education of adults (both teachers and learners), is considered. Putting these principles into practice leads with a high degree of probability to the achievement of the sought goals of education. These principles as well as the andragogic educational model itself are recommended for a wider application to the system of education for senior students, junior physicians, and resident medical practitioners with a view to improving the efficacy of the educational process.

This article addresses one of the as yet unresolved issues pertaining to forensic medical examination of certain health problems, namely the absence of an accurate universally accepted approach to the interpretation of the term "working capacity". Historical prerequisites for the evolvement of such notions as "economic criterion" and "disability percentage tables" are discussed with special reference to the estimation of the degree of harm to human health. Analysis of the literature data is used to compare different points of view of the problem and ascertain their validity.