A Morphometric Study of Humerus to Determine Sexual Dimorphism in Indian Population

ZEENATHALAM NADAF, BETTY ANNA JOSE, AGA AMMAR MURTHUZA, VARSHA MOKHASI
2022 International Journal of Anatomy Radiology and Surgery  
Recognising the gender from the skeleton or decomposed body is a difficult task. Morphometry of long bones is highly applicable in such cases. The morphological features of humerus show varying degrees of sexual dimorphism in various populations. Aim: The study is focused on the morphometric analysis of humerus to evaluate the most reliable parameter for sexual dimorphism in Indian subcontinent. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2016 to January 2020
more » ... on 82 dry completely ossified adult humeri of known sex (51 male and 31 female). The parameters included in this study were- Maximum Length of humerus (ML), Vertical Diameter of Head (VDH), Epicondylar Breadth (ECB), Maximum Mid-Shaft Diameter (Max. MSD) and Minimum Mid-Shaft Diameter (Min. MSD). The parameters were measured by electronic digital caliper and osteometric board. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was carried out to compute the demarking point and Discriminant Score (DS). Discriminant function analysis was performed using Wilk's lambda to determine that which variable provided the best discrimination between sexes. Results: It was found that a higher demarking point indicates a male while the lower value indicates a female. In discriminant function analysis, the sectioning point greater than -0.42 was a male and less than -0.42 was a female. Wilk's lambda was least for VDH (0.349) followed by ECB (0.467) and ML (0.486), whereas Max. and Min. MSD (0.771, 0.700) showed greater values. Conclusion: The VDH is the most reliable parameter in humerus for determination of sex followed by ECB and ML. Max. and Min. MSD have lesser contributions for sex determination. A combination of parameters is better than using a single parameter and this knowledge will be very helpful to forensic anthropologists.
doi:10.7860/ijars/2022/50751.2731 doaj:79662c3316834d688d83a226c760415c fatcat:du7vj2ktnzgj5mct5i3vajws6i