NCJ Number
223388
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 53 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 620-625
Date Published
May 2008
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study examined the usefulness of features of the 12th thoracic vertebra (T12) in determining sex in a Korean population, using 33 linear measurements and 2 ratios obtained from 102 T12 vertebrae of the Digital Korean database at the Catholic Institute for Applied Anatomy, which consists of 3-dimensional models of whole skeletons of Koreans.
Abstract
Significant sex differences were found for 23 of 35 traits of the T12 vertebra. The linear dimensions of the vertebral body, pedicle, mammillary, and transverse processes showed distinct differences between males and females, thus providing sex-determining parameters. The authors created 23 discriminant-function equations that predicted sex with 62.7-85.3-percent accuracy. The analysis that used combinations of two factors yielded higher accuracies; most equations with accuracies over 80 percent included at least one measurement that involved the coronal diameter of the vertebral endplate. Using a stepwise method of discriminant-function analysis, three variables predicted sex with 90-percent accuracy: the coronal diameter of the superior endplate of the vertebral body, the ratio of anterior to middle height of the body, and the length of the left mammillary process and pedicle. Coronal dimensions of the vertebral body represented the major sex difference in the 12th vertebra. These equations will assist in the forensic determination of sex among Korean populations. Of the 102 3-dimensional T12 vertebral models, 50 were female and 52 were male. 5 tables, 1 figure, and 21 references