Estimation of sex from fragments of os coxa by metric analysis

Abstract

Sexual dimorphism between racial phenotypes and populations could be expressed in terms of metric and morphologic variations. The objective of this research was to estimate sex by metric analysis of new combination of pelvic measurements. The minimum iliac breadth (MIB), maximum auricular length (MAL) and maximum ischio-pubic length (MIPL) were measured from intact os coxa (pelvic bone) of 50 males and 50 females of South Indian origin, which were easily reproducible. Data were analysed by using discriminant function and demarking point analysis. The accuracies of sex estimation from discriminant function analysis ranged from 68% to 81%. Although the accuracies were relatively low, these could be used in fragmentary remains of the os coxa. Sectioning points are useful in predicting the sex of individual bones.

Keywords:

• forensic anthropology
• fragmentary os coxa
• identification
• sex estimation
• sexual dimorphism
• discriminant function analysis