No abstract

El reconocimiento y la determinación del sexo a partir de fragmentos y restos de esqueletos humanos ha sido, hasta ahora, una tarea compleja para expertos forenses y antropólogos. Para los primeros, se vuelve crucial en casos de desastres masivos, catástrofes, como actos terroristas y guerras. El estudio con huesos de pelvis, cráneo, fémur y otros huesos largos ha contribuido significativamente a analizar la determinación del sexo en estas situaciones. El estudio del dimorfismo del esternón puede convertirse en un elemento más que puede colaborar con este tipo de conocimiento. El presente estudio buscó investigar, en fetos humanos, el dimorfismo sexual del esternón, a partir de sus mediciones perimetrales, que fueron tratadas por métodos estadísticos. Para ello, tres observadores diferentes utilizaron un paquimetro digital con una precisión de 0,01mm y se calculó la media de las mediciones obtenidas. Las diferencias en el promedio se evaluaron mediante la prueba t y la prueba de Mann-Whitney, así como el análisis discriminante. Los hallazgos de las mediciones del esternón en fetos humanos no nos parecieron un indicador confiable de la determinación del sexo. Esperamos que otros estudios con un mayor número de muestras y el uso de otras técnicas posibles también colaboren con el sujeto.

Das Erkennen und Bestimmen des Geschlechts aus Fragmenten und Überresten menschlicher Skelette war bisher eine komplexe Aufgabe für Forensiker und Anthropologen. Für erstere wird es bei Massenkatastrophen, Katastrophen wie Terroranschlägen und Kriegen von entscheidender Bedeutung. Die Studie mit Knochen des Beckens, des Schädels, des Oberschenkelknochens und anderer langer Knochen hat wesentlich dazu beigetragen, die Bestimmung des Geschlechts in diesen Situationen zu analysieren. Das Studium des Brustbeindimorphismus kann ein weiteres Element sein, das mit dieser Art von Wissen zusammenarbeiten kann. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, bei menschlichen Föten den Geschlechtsdimorphismus des Brustbeins auf der Grundlage seiner Umfangsmessungen zu untersuchen, die mit statistischen Methoden behandelt wurden. Zu diesem Zweck verwendeten drei verschiedene Beobachter ein digitales Pachymeter mit einer Genauigkeit von 0,01 mm und berechneten den Durchschnitt der erhaltenen Messungen. Unterschiede im Durchschnitt wurden mit dem t-Test und dem Mann-Whitney-Test sowie der Diskriminanzanalyse bewertet. Befunde aus Messungen des Brustbeins bei menschlichen Föten schienen uns kein verlässlicher Indikator für die Geschlechtsbestimmung zu sein. Wir hoffen, dass weitere Studien mit einer größeren Anzahl von Proben und der Verwendung anderer möglicher Techniken ebenfalls mit dem Thema zusammenarbeiten werden.

The recognition and determination of sex from fragments and remnants of human skeletons has been, until now, a complex task for forensic experts and anthropologists. For the former, it becomes crucial in cases of mass disasters, catastrophes, such as terrorist acts and wars. The study with bones of the pelvis, skull, femur and other long bones has significantly contributed to analyze the determination of sex in these situations. The study of sternum dimorphism can become one more element that may collaborate with this type of knowledge. The present study sought to investigate, in human fetuses, the sexual dimorphism of the sternum, based on its perimeter measurements, which were treated using statistical methods. For this purpose, three different observers used a digital pachymeter with a precision of 0.01mm and the average of the measurements obtained was calculated. Differences in average were evaluated using the t-test and Mann-Whitney test, as well as discriminant analysis. Findings from measurements of the sternum in human fetuses did not seem to us to be a reliable indicator of sex determination. We hope that further studies with a larger number of samples and the use of other possible techniques will also collaborate with the subject.

Background Sex determination of unidentified remains found in archaeological or forensic situations has been one of the primary tasks for specialists such as forensic anthropologists or bioarchaeologists. In cases of mass disasters such as armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, plane crashes, war-related crimes, etc., when decomposed, mutilated or damaged mortal remains consisting of only a few bones or their fragments are recovered from the scene, it becomes crucial to establish the biological identity, especially the sex of a missing individual. Although several bones, such as the pelvis, skull and femur, have contributed significantly as an indicator in the determination of sex, we often make use of less dimorphic elements of the skeleton, as is the case of the sternum. The objective of this study was to investigate the sexual dimorphism of the sternum of human fetuses from northeastern Brazil and to verify through statistical methods the accuracy of the sternum measurements to estimate the sex. All measurements of the sternum bones in human fetuses were made with the aid of a digital caliper with a precision of 0.01 mm by 3 different observers and the average was calculated. The means differences were evaluated using the T test and Mann-Whitney test and discriminant analysis. Result It was observed that all measurements (length and width of the sternum) in males showed slightly higher means. We can also infer for the model with all variables that the length and widths 2 and 3 of the sternum had an accuracy of 73.3%, whereas in the individual models, width 3 of the sternum had better accuracy (60%). Conclusion We can conclude that the sternum measurements of fetuses have not been shown to be reliable as an indicator in the determination of sex. Further development of these methods, as well as the expansion of the database, may help us to develop further sternum-based sex estimation functions and standard measurements for other potentially useful bones.