Fully Ossified Thyroid Cartilage Found among the Skeletal Remains of A 21-Year-Old Slavic Soldier: Interpretation of a Case

The degree of ossification of the thyroid cartilage in anthropological studies is related to other methods of determining the age of a skeleton. The endochondral ossification process begins at the age of approximately 15–20 years and is generally completed in the fifth or sixth decade of life. In the present case, early and complete mineralization of the thyroid cartilage of a skeleton belonging to a 21-year-old young soldier who died in 1946 was observed. Ossified thyroid cartilage at a very young age is rare and may be associated with specific symptoms, such as compression due to trauma, or may also be related to hormonal dysfunction and various diseases that may cause early mineralization. A macroscopic morphological evaluation and radiographic examination of the thyroid cartilage were performed and a decalcification test was applied to a sample taken from the thyroid cartilage to confirm that the structure was indeed mineralized. There is nothing to exclude that this is simply a physiological anatomical variation. Knowledge of this rare anatomical abnormality at a young age would be useful for the diagnosis of various pathological conditions.