Comparing the Accuracy of Morphometric and Morphological Criteria of Hip Bone in Gender Determination

Abstract

Background: A primary aim of forensic medicine is gender determination. Although hip is the optimal bone for this purpose, different determining criteria of this bone do not have the same accuracy. This is important in conditions that only parts of hip remain to determine gender. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of different hip criteria in gender determination. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated a total of 160 paired hips (80 males and 80 females) removed from the bodies for bone transplantation. Morphometric criteria were vertical and horizontal acetabular diameters and superior and inferior pubic ramus widths. Morphological criteria were a greater sciatic notch, obturator foramen, pubic body, preauricular sulcus, acetabular fossa position, and ischial tuberosity. The obtained data were analyzed using Cross Tab, t-test, and logistic regression analysis by SPSS. The significance level was set at P<0.05. Results: There was no significant difference in morphometric and morphological criteria between the studied left and right hip bones (P>0.05). In gender determination, acetabular diameter and greater sciatic notch had the highest accuracy (85%), and obturator foramen (67.5%) and superior and inferior pubic ramus widths (65%) had the lowest accuracy. Conclusion: Hip bone is not always completely available and preserved to determine gender. Moreover, sometimes not all anthropometric criteria of the bone are in favor of one gender. Therefore, investigating the accuracy of different criteria can be very important in interpreting the results. Thus, it has always been emphasized on the use of all available information in gender determination.

Sex Determination by Pelvis: A Mini Literature Review

“…This expressive sexual dimorphism is mainly due to the body's reproductive system, organ support, and adaptive differences between the two sexes. The morphological features present in the human skeleton can complete the process of gender assessment with some degree of reliability [1,3]. In a study of Balkan populations by Durić et al it has been stated that morphological sex differences in the pelvis are significant enough to determine gender with 100% accuracy [36].…”

“…Forensic anthropology is a multidisciplinary endeavor involving the application of biological or physical anthropology in investigation of civil or criminal cases by analyzing the skeletal, decomposed or fragmented unidentified human remains [1,2,25,53]. A forensic anthropologist can conjure the biological profile of an individual by determining age, sex, stature, ancestry, time since death, cause of death, and certain other unique features from the collected unidentified remains [25,54].…”

“…The aspects of sexual dimorphism for a pelvis be it in terms of morphology or size, is chiefly due to the phenomenon of parturition in females or to deliver the foetus [41]. Pelvis estimates the result with an accuracy of 98% and the pelvic girdle alone can estimate the result with 95% accuracy [1,35]. Pelvic girdle is the most sexually dimorphic part of human skeleton [16].…”

“…Pelvic girdle is the most sexually dimorphic part of human skeleton [16]. The os cox or the hip bone is considered one of the most reliable indicators for sex identification because the pattern of sexual dimorphism is common to the entire human race [1,4,8] whereas, the sacrum bone represents some principal sexual differences of which prime are of the metrical values. The pelvic bones together with the sacrum, called the pelvis, become a rich source of sex determination.…”

“…The results of various studies and research have uncertainties due to the recipes used, the origin of the sample, the condition of the sample (burnt, fractured, gross) etc. that make them unique [1]. A basin shaped framework embodying two hip bones, a sacrum and coccyx is called pelvis [43,46] shown in Figure 1.…”