ESTIMATION OF A GE FROM O LECRANON C ENTRE OF THE U PPER E ND OF THE U LNA BY U SING R ADIOGRAPHS OF 6 TO 18 Y EARS A GE F EMALE SUBJECTS

Determination of the age of an individual from the appearance and the fusion of the ossification centres is a well accepted fact in the field of medical and legal professions. A cross - sectional descriptive radiological study was carried out with the objective to estimate the age of appearance and fusion of the olecranon ossification centres of the upper end of the ulna of female subject in central Sudan. A total of 56 females a ged between 6 to 18 years free of physical disabilities, nutritional and endocrine disorders were selected. A classification into five stages was applied to assess the ossification of the olecranon centre (1: Not ossified OC ; 2: Partial ossified (appearan ce); 3: Ossified, nonunion of the olecranon cenrtre and shaft; 4: Partial union of the epiphysis and metaphysis; Stage 5: complete fusion of the epiphysis and metaphysis. It was established that the oclecranon centre appeared at the age 8 - 10 years and comp letely fused to the shaft of ulna at the age 14 - 16 years. Olecranon process ossification; appearance and fusion was almost similar with other workers and the outcomes of the study can be utilized for Sudanese population