A Morphometric Study of the Human Calcaneus in North Indians-A Dimorphic Study

Abstract

Background: The calcaneus is a compact bone that is able to withstand high tensile forces. Since most bones that are conventionally used for sex determination are often recovered either in a fragmented or incomplete state, it has become necessary to use denser bones that are often recovered intact, like the calcaneus .The present study intends to assess the dimorphic reliability of different morphological parameters of calcaneus and derive discriminant functional equations for use in sex determination for North Indian population. It is expected that the observations and inferences are of significance for anatomists, anthropologists and forensic medicine and other allied clinical sciences. Methods: The present study was conducted on 200 dry calcanei of known sex (100 males; 100 females) with intent of establishing sexual dimorphism for North Indian population. Results: There exists a definite statistically significant dimorphism for the morphology of the calcaneus. It is postulated that this statistically significant dimorphism for calcaneal parameters might be the result of a different pattern of walking or physical labor between sexes. Conclusion: The highly accurate scores obtained by the discriminant function analysis and the absolute accuracy of classification when both left and right functions were taken into consideration indicate the dimorphic profile and high predictive value of North Indian calcanei in sex determination. It can be concluded that the calcaneus of North Indians is useful for the sex determination of skeletal remains in either a complete or fragmentary state.