ArticleForensic science, medicine, and pathology2016
Hyoid bone fusion and bone density across the lifespan: prediction of age and sex.
Article in Forensic science, medicine, and pathology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Is there sufficient evidence that the hyoid bone can be used for sexual dimorphism? a systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Computed tomography-based age and sex estimation through hyoid bone anthropometry and radiodensity analysis.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- The Human Hyoid Body-Greater Cornu Junction: Development, Histological Diversity, and Imaging Correlates.Cureus · 2026Review
- Three-dimensional relationship between the hyoid bone and the stylohyoid complex: a cone-beam computed tomography study introducing a novel angular parameter.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Analysis of hyoid bone variations to estimate sex, age, and morphology: A study on the Croatian population for forensic applications.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- Differentiating homicidal, suicidal, and autoerotic neck compression deaths.Journal of forensic sciences · 2025Article
- A CBCT Morphometric Study of Hyoid Bone According to Skeletal and Breathing Patterns Using Multi-Factor Robust ANOVA.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Rethinking Hominin Air Sac Loss in Light of Phylogenetically Meaningful Evidence.Evolutionary anthropology · 2025Article
- Deep learning-based sex estimation of 3D hyoid bone models in a Croatian population using adapted PointNet++ network.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Automated 3D segmentation of the hyoid bone in CBCT using nnU-Net v2: a retrospective study on model performance and potential clinical utility.BMC medical imaging · 2025Article
- DXAGE 2.0 - adult age at death estimation using bone loss in the proximal femur and the second metacarpal.International journal of legal medicine · 2022Article
- Article
- Contributions of anatomy to forensic sex estimation: focus on head and neck bones.Forensic sciences research · 2022Review
- Growth and sexual dimorphism of the hyoid bone and its relationship to the mandible from birth to 19 years: A three-dimensional computed tomography study.Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007) · 2021Article
- Article
- Anthropological analysis of trauma in throat bone and cartilage: A review.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2020Review
- Variants of the hyoid-larynx complex, with implications for forensic science and consequence for the diagnosis of Eagle's syndrome.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Automatic hyoid bone detection in fluoroscopic images using deep learning.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- The Laryngohyoid Complex in Medicolegal Death Investigations.Academic forensic pathology · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
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Abstract
The hyoid bone supports the important functions of swallowing and speech. At birth, the hyoid bone consists of a central body and pairs of right and left lesser and greater cornua. Fusion of the greater cornua with the body normally occurs in adulthood, but may not occur at all in some individuals. The aim of this study was to quantify hyoid bone fusion across the lifespan, as well as assess developmental changes in hyoid bone density. Using a computed tomography imaging studies database, 136 hyoid bones (66 male, 70 female, ages 1-to-94) were examined. Fusion was ranked on each side and hyoid bones were classified into one of four fusion categories based on their bilateral ranks: bilateral distant non-fusion, bilateral non-fusion, partial or unilateral fusion, and bilateral fusion. Three-dimensional hyoid bone models were created and used to calculate bone density in Hounsfield units. Results showed a wide range of variability in the timing and degree of hyoid bone fusion, with a trend for bilateral non-fusion to decrease after age 20. Hyoid bone density was significantly lower in adult female scans than adult male scans and decreased with age in adulthood. In sex and age estimation models, bone density was a significant predictor of sex. Both fusion category and bone density were significant predictors of age group for adult females. This study provides a developmental baseline for understanding hyoid bone fusion and bone density in typically developing individuals. Findings have implications for the disciplines of forensics, anatomy, speech pathology, and anthropology.
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