Which statement about skull sutures and age estimation is accurate?

• A. The sagittal suture fuses by age 25
• B. The coronal suture fuses before age 30
• C. The sagittal suture fuses by age 35, and the coronal may fuse later
• D. Sutures never fuse with age

Answer: (C)

Skull sutures gradually ossify as a person ages, and this ossification pattern can help constrain age estimates, though it varies a lot between individuals. The sagittal suture tends to fuse later in life, often by the mid to late 30s, while the coronal suture can fuse even later or remain unfused in older adults. So saying that the sagittal suture fuses by about 35 and the coronal may fuse later fits the general pattern and acknowledges the variability. The idea that the sagittal would fuse by 25 is too early for most adults, the coronal fusing before 30 isn’t consistently observed, and sutures do not universally remain unfused with age.