NCJ Number
200459
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2003 Pages: 517-530
Date Published
May 2003
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This study re-examined the accuracy of the supero-inferior femoral neck diameter for the determination of sex by using a modern sample of French individuals.
Abstract
The determination of sex from the femur has been the subject of many studies, both on well-preserved bones and poorly preserved skeletal remains. Seidemann et al. used a univariate method for sex determination based upon the minimum supero-inferior femoral neck diameter (SID) from the Hamann-Todd collection. Stojanowski and Seidemann tested previous results computed from the Hamann-Todd skeletal sample on a modern sample of documented age and sex taken from the University of New Mexico They concluded in their second paper that, with regard to the SID measurements, the Caucasian male subsamples exhibited no significant differences between individuals born before and after 1900, but the Caucasian female subgroup did exhibit differences, namely an increase of the SID in the modern samples. The aim of the current study was to compare the results of the supero-inferior femoral neck diameter between the Hamann-Todd skeletal collection and a modern femur collection of French adults born after 1910 and having died in 1998, 1999, and 2000. These results were compared with the Stojanowski and Seidemann results. A total of 70 pairs of adult femora (35 White males and 35 White females) were used for this study. The measurements were taken with a digital sliding caliper zeroed between each measurement. Both sides of the femora were measured, and no statistical difference was found between the right and left side. The study findings showed a significant difference between the pre-1900 and the modern sample, with an increase in femoral neck diameter in modern populations. The comparison of the SID values between the two modern samples (Mexico and Nice) showed no significant differences in the femoral neck diameter in the two male subgroups, but the measurements of the SID in the female subgroup did show significant differences, with an increase of the neck femoral diameter in the modern French population. These findings indicate an increase in the neck femoral morphology in the elderly European French female samples. The results of this study should be applied only to specimens with similar biological and environmental background. 1 figure, 6 tables, and 20 references