Forensic sex estimation using the vertebrae: an evaluation on two European populations

Garoufi, Nefeli; Bertsatos, Andreas; Chovalopoulou, Maria‐Eleni; Villa, Chiara

doi:10.1007/s00414-020-02430-w

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The presence of sexual dimorphism regarding the sizerelated variables is in accordance with previous findings on the Greek population [29] as well as the well-established fact that males are larger than females, in general. On the other hand, the shape of the endplate and especially its external boundary, which relates to osteophyte formation, does not exhibit differences between males and females.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The impact of age on the morphology of the 12th thoracic vertebral endplates

et al. 2022

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The current article explores the aging effects on the overall morphology of the endplates of the 12th thoracic vertebra (T12), while screening for sex differences. It further evaluates the suitability of T12 for estimating age-at-death in bioarcheaological contexts. We captured the morphology of the vertebral endplates, including the formation of osteophytes, in a novel continuous quantitative manner using digital photography. 168 Greek adults from the Athens Collection were used for modeling the aging effects and another 107 individuals from two Danish archaeological assemblages for evaluation. Regression analysis is based on generalized additive models for correlating age-at-death and morphological variation. Our proposed measurement method is highly reliable (R>0.98) and the main differences observed between sexes are size related. Aging has considerable effect on the endplate morphology of the T12 with the total area of the endplate, the area of the epiphyseal rim, and the shape irregularities of the endplate's external boundary being mostly affected. Multivariate regression shows that aging effects account up to 46% of the observed variation, although with differential expression between sexes. Correct age prediction on archaeological remains reached 33% with a prominent tendency for overestimation. The morphology of the T12 endplates is influenced by age and it can provide some insight with respect to the age-at-death of unidentified individuals, especially when other skeletal age markers are unavailable. Our proposed method provides an ageestimation framework for bioarchaeological settings, especially for estimating broader age ranges, such as discriminating between young and old adults.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The impact of age on the morphology of the 12th thoracic vertebral endplates

et al. 2022

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“…14 Numerous studies have stated that sexual dimorphism is most correlated with the size of the vertebral body, and lumbar vertebrae offer an accuracy range of 47.0% to 94.5% for sex determination. 3,4,9,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] The lumbar upper endplate depth and width variables are found to be useful for sex determination by discriminant function analysis. 13 Sex determination studies based on lumbar vertebral morphometry utilize various techniques, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and dry bone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep learning and morphometric approach for Sex determination of the lumbar vertebrae in a Thai population

et al. 2022

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Sex determination is a fundamental step in biological profile estimation from skeletal remains in forensic anthropology. This study proposes deep learning and morphometric technique to perform sex determination from lumbar vertebrae in a Thai population. A total of 1100 lumbar vertebrae (L1-L5) from 220 Thai individuals (110 males and 110 females) were obtained from the Forensic Osteology Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Thailand. In addition, two linear measurements of superior and inferior endplates from the digital caliper and image analysis were carried out for morphometric technique. Deep learning applied image classification to the superior and inferior endplates of the lumbar vertebral body. All lumbar vertebrae images are included in the dataset to increase the number of images per class. The accuracy determined the performance of each technique. The results showed the accuracies of 82.7%, 90.0%, and 92.5% for digital caliper, image analysis, and deep learning techniques, respectively. The lumbar vertebrae L1-L5 exhibit sexual dimorphism and can be used in sex estimation. Deep learning is more accurate in determining sex than the morphometric method. In addition, the subjectivity and errors in the measurement are decreased. Finally, this study presented an alternative approach to determining sex from lumbar vertebrae when the more traditionally used skeletal elements are incomplete or absent.

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“…Based on archeological skeletal material, we conduct research into, for example, health and diseases of past populations [58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67], trauma [68] dietary habits of the past [46,47], migrations [44], human morphology [69,70]. Based on PMCT scans, we also conduct research into, for example, age estimation [11,71,72], cranial trauma [21][22][23], 3D documentation and virtual reconstruction [27,73,74], 3D printing [75].…”

Section: Education and Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology in Denmark

Villa

Lynnerup

Boel

et al. 2022

Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science

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In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the status of forensic anthropology and forensic archeology in Denmark, as well as related information about education, research, and skeletal collections. Forensic anthropologists mainly deal with the examination of unidentified skeletal remains. Some special tasks include cranial trauma analysis of the recently deceased, advanced 3D visualization from CT scanning of homicide cases, and stature estimation of perpetrators using surveillance videos. Forensic anthropologists are employed at one of Denmark’s three departments of forensic medicine (in Copenhagen, Odense, and Aarhus) and have access to advanced imaging equipment (e.g., CT and MR scanning, surface scanners, and 3D printers) for use in both their requisitioned work and their research. Extensive research is conducted on different topics, such as the health and diseases of past populations, age estimation, and human morphology. Research is based on skeletal material from the archeological collections housed in Copenhagen and Odense or on CT data from the recently deceased. There is no full degree in forensic anthropology in Denmark, but elective courses and lectures are offered to students at different levels and to people from different professional backgrounds. Forensic archaeology is a relatively new field of expertise in Denmark, and relevant cases are rare, with only one or two cases per year. No forensic archeologists are officially employed in any of the departments of forensic medicine. Until recently, the Special Crime Unit of the police handled crime scene investigations involving excavations, but with the option of enlisting the help of outside specialists, such as archaeologists, anthropologists, and pathologists. An official excavation work group was established in 2015 under the lead of the Special Crime Unit of the police with the aim of refining the methods and procedures used in relevant criminal investigations. The group is represented by five police officers from the Special Crime Scene Unit, a police officer from the National Police Dog Training center, the two archaeologists from Moesgaard Museum, a forensic anthropologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Copenhagen), and a forensic pathologist from the Department of Forensic Medicine (University of Aarhus).

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Forensic sex estimation using the vertebrae: an evaluation on two European populations

Cited by 19 publications

References 54 publications

The impact of age on the morphology of the 12th thoracic vertebral endplates

The impact of age on the morphology of the 12th thoracic vertebral endplates

Deep learning and morphometric approach for Sex determination of the lumbar vertebrae in a Thai population

Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology in Denmark

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