Abstract: Age identification is a common service of clinical forensic medicine. However, there is still no practice criterion or published guidelines for skeletal age identification. The absence of criterion brings negative influence to the objectivity, accuracy and justice of forensic age identification. Based on the practice of age identification and the development of skeletal age researches, the standard protocol for age identification was discussed in the present study. The authors presented four principles of age identification, including comprehensive, average, lower limit and in time principles, and pointed out that the skeletal age determination should be based on the comprehensive analysis of various skeletons development with various methods and standards, and the dental age, secondary sex characters, nutritional state and other factors that can effect skeleton development should also be considered. A standard protocol for age identification can enhance the evidence role of age identification and improve the standardization construction of forensic identification. Additionally, the four principles presented here can also provide guidelines for other complex forensic medicine identifications.

Key words: skeletal age, age identification, forensic clinical medicine, standardization, practice criterion

摘要：  目前尚无公认的活体年龄鉴定操作规范或指导文献，各国及国内不同地区，甚至同一地区不同部门，采用的鉴定方法和技术手段各不相同，可能影响鉴定结论的科学性和准确性，甚至影响了司法鉴定的公平、公正。结合相关骨龄研究进展，就活体年龄鉴定的操作规范化问题进行初步探讨，提出了“综合原则、均值原则、下限原则、及时原则”等鉴定的基本原则，认为应综合多方法、多部位、多标准进行骨龄鉴定，同时结合牙龄、第二性征、营养状态和相关病理等影响骨骼发育因素的基本信息，综合地分析、判断并加以说明，期望促进活体年龄鉴定操作规范的研讨以及司法鉴定标准化的建设。同时，提出的“鉴定四原则”对于其他较复杂的和多因素案例的法医学鉴定亦具有借鉴意义。

关键词: 骨龄, 年龄推断, 法医临床学, 标准化建设, 操作规范