Sex Determination From Scapula Using 3-D Computed Tomography in Sample of Sohag Governorate Population

Overview

One of the most difficult areas of forensic science is identifying individuals. Accurate sex estimation based on measurements of dimorphic dimensions in unknown human remains is a crucial first step toward making individual identification. the most accurate approach to determine sex by bone size is based on os coxae or skull. After natural disaster their presence can never be guaranteed, therefore the development of methods of sex determination using other skeletal elements is crucial. The scapula is a paired short bone that will be researched in this study. The decision to focus on the scapula was made in the first place because of its minor morphological alterations after growing is complete. Second, short and flat bones appear to be better maintained than lengthy bones, which are frequently fractured, scattered, and mixed together. Scapular muscle attachments provide protection to the bone making it difficult to fracture or break . Comparative studies on different populations have shown population-specific results in the discriminant function equations for sex estimation. There is significant population variation due to sexual dimorphism in the growth rate and developmental process of human beings. Genetics play an important role in this variation. Nevertheless, environmental factors, nutrition, secular changes and diseases also play an important role in sexual dimorphism .

One of the most difficult areas of forensic science is identifying individuals. Accurate sex estimation based on measurements of dimorphic dimensions in unknown human remains is a crucial first step toward making individual identification. the most accurate approach to determine sex by bone size is based on os coxae or skull. After natural disaster their presence can never be guaranteed, therefore the development of methods of sex determination using other skeletal elements is crucial.The scapula is a paired short bone that will be researched in this study. The decision to focus on the scapula was made in the first place because of its minor morphological alterations after growing is complete. Second, short and flat bones appear to be better maintained than lengthy bones, which are frequently fractured, scattered, and mixed together. Comparative studies on different populations have shown population-specific results in the discriminant function equations for sex estimation. There is significant population variation due to sexual dimorphism in the growth rate and developmental process of human beings. Genetics play an important role in this variation. Nevertheless, environmental factors, nutrition, secular changes and diseases also play an important role in sexual dimorphism. The first study that used the scapula in sex estimation was conducted by Dwight in 1894. Dwight measured the height of the glenoid fossae and maximum scapular length of 123 patients (84 males and 39 females),Dwight's method showed that the scapular height had a high predictive value. In 2010, Dabbs and Moore-Jansen applied the 23 parameter method to 803 individuals of the Hamann-Todd collection in their study and showed that the overall accuracy of this method was 95.7%. studies reveal that the use of Computed tomography (CT) images increases accuracy and reproducibility over traditional methods in establishing a biological profile . even though there is evidence of sexual dimorphism in the scapula according to several published studies, the validity of scapula for sex estimation has not been explored in depth in modern population where a general lack of contemporary osteometric databases noted. in this paper , this study is presented in order to test the efficacy of scapula to serve as sex indicator for forensic purposes.