Subclassification of clavicular substage 3a is useful for diagnosing the age of 17 years

Background In various European countries the age of 17 years can play a key role in the context of subsequent immigration of further family members in cases of unaccompanied minor refugees. Aim The present study investigated whether further subclassification of the clavicular substage 3a can serve as an additional criterion for determining if a person has reached 17 years of age. Material and methods In this study the computed tomography scans of 36 autopsy cases with clavicular substage 3a were further subclassified according to a new classification system comprising the stages 3aa, 3ab and 3ac. Results The analysis revealed that the new stage 3ac occurred first at the age of 18.2 years in males and at 17.6 years in females. Conclusion The presence of the new stage 3ac represents a potential criterion for indicating that the 17th year of life has been completed.