NCJ Number
187622
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 46 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2001 Pages: 363-366
Date Published
March 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper reports on the stature of 104 healthy adults (52 males and 52 females) from Spain; an anteroposterior teleradiograph of the right lower and the right upper limb of every subject in the study was made in order to measure the lengths of the femur, tibia, fibula, humerus, cubitus, and ulna.
Abstract
The estimation of stature from human skeletal remains is a recurrent problem in forensic science. Although a variety of bones may be used for this purpose, best results are achieved by using the long limb bones. Skeleton development is influenced by a number of factors that produce differences in skeletal proportions between different geographic areas. Also, several studies report racial differences in mean adult heights and limb-bone lengths between populations. At the time of writing, there was no data in the literature on the Spanish population; the aim of the current study is to help correct this deficiency by supplying regression equations for estimating the stature of Spanish adults by using radiographically determined long-bone length. In the current study all subjects were between 20 and 40 years of age. The formulae used in the study do not necessarily apply to younger or more elderly groups. All subjects were measured at the same time of day and in the same position. Pearson's regression formulae were obtained for the bones in both limbs. In males, the study found the femur to be the most accurate predictor of stature (R = 0.851); whereas, in females best results were obtained with the tibia (R = 0.876). Considering that this study was based on a radiographical study, reproduction of the results requires strict adherence to the method described. 3 tables, 2 figures, and 8 references