Objective: Determination of sex is one of the most important parameters for conducting biological profile of unknown skeletal remains in anatomical anthropology and forensic medicine. Mastoid bone is useful for the identification of sex, as it is the most protected bone and is resistant to damage, due to its anatomical position at the base of the skull. The aim of this study was to develop new equations for the estimation of sex from mastoid triangle in the Malaysian population.Methods: About 10 parameters were studied on 388 computed tomography scans of crania in 231 males and 157 females. The parameters comprised three sides of mastoid triangle, its perimeter and area on both sides. T-test was used to compare between the right and left sides and between males and females. Stepwise discriminant function was used to reveal the best discriminatory parameter and its classification accuracy.Results: Comparison of means by T-test revealed no difference between the right and left sides in both sexes. T-test showed a significant difference between males and females for all parameters. Perimeter of mastoid triangle was found to be the best parameter by stepwise discriminant analysis. The equation based on perimeter of mastoid triangle was developed with 84.4% classification accuracy.Conclusion: The developed equation could be used to assess sexual dimorphism of fragmented Malaysian crania with intact mastoid region. The achieved cross-validated classification was relatively high compared to that in other previous studies.
Research in forensic anthropology is recent in Malaysia due to limited access to documented skeletal collections. However, advanced imaging techniques provide virtual bone samples for use in morphometric studies to establish populationspecific standards by virtual anthropology. This study examined sexual dimorphism in the subpubic angle using a threedimensional computed tomography model of the pelvis, in a contemporary Malaysian population. The sample comprised multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scans of 50 male and 50 female adults. Segmentation of the MDCT scans was performed using 3D Slicer, and four landmarks were acquired using Stratovan Checkpoint for the subpubic angle measurement. The technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM, and coefficient of reliability (R) exhibited high reliability in measurements. Results showed that the subpubic angle in males was 68.6°±7.6° and in females 87.4°±6.5°. The subpubic angle in females was significantly larger than in males (P<0.001). Inverse correlation was found between the subpubic angle and age, in both males (r=-0.449, P<0.01) and females (r=-0.385, P<0.01). The overall accuracy of sex estimation using the subpubic angle was 94% (P<0.001). The subpubic angle, with a demarcating point of 78.6°, showed a sensitivity and specificity of 94% in the classification of female individuals. In conclusion, sex estimation using the subpu bic angle is highly accurate, with a high degree of expected sensitivity and specificity in the Malaysian population.
Background: Stature is one of the important aspects of biological profile for an unknown individual in forensic anthropology. As stature is population-specific, this study was conducted in Hospital Sungai Buloh, Hospital Tapah and Hospital Kampar to develop regression for stature estimation in the Malaysian population. About 90 subjects from 23 to 47 years old were selected for radiography of upper limbs. The standing height of the subject was measured beforehand for each subject. The maximum length of the bones was measured on the x-ray film in cm, and analysis was performed by SPSS version 23. Results: Results showed significant correlations between stature and upper limb bones (p < 0.05). There was significant difference between males and females in stature (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference found in stature among age and demic groups (p > 0.05). About eight regression equations were developed, of which three for single bone and one in combination of three bones in males and females. The regression equations with combination of bones showed the highest correlation coefficient (r). However, these regression equations are not suitable yet to be used practically in Malaysian population due to high standard error of estimates. Conclusion: In brief, the research study has to be validated with a larger sample size to represent the Malaysian population.
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