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Chapter

Forensic Osteology
and Identification
Anil Garg and Nisha Goyal

Abstract

Every human corpse is unique. There are different religions in different parts of
the world which adopt a variety of ways to dispose of corpses. Dead bodies can be
found unattended, dug up, mutilated by the perpetrators of crimes, and eaten by
wild animals in lonely unattended places. In these situations, forensic anthropolo-
gists or anatomists are consulted by the state authorities to help them to provide
justice to the deceased person. The first and foremost scientific information desired
by authorities is identification of the corpse, cause of death of the human body and
weapon used, if applicable. Identification can be done by studying the bones of the
human corpse during autopsy examination and if unknown skeletal remains are all
that is available, examination of each bone is required. Forensic anthropologists or
pathologists are asked to identify race, sex and age as important parameters of the
identification. In this chapter, we will enumerate various parameters for identifica-
tion. We will discuss race, age and sex from various bones as part of forensic
oesteology.

Keywords: bones, index, skull, femur, ossification centre, race, age, sex, skull,
pelvis, mandible, rhomboid fossa

1. Introduction

The human corpse is more than a utilitarian object; it has sacred meaning. Every
religious faith has beliefs pertaining to the treatment of corpses and there are laws
that govern the treatment and the burial of the dead. While these laws have recog-
nized the corpse’s instrumental value as an object for scientific study, clinical
teaching and commercial gain, they generally accommodate the desire to respect
the remains [1].
Forensic experts, in particular anthropologists, frequently are asked to examine
unknown corpses before final rituals for identification in medico-legal cases. Iden-
tification is the determination of the individuality of a person. This can be for either
a living or dead person. Various parameters for identification of human dead bodies
are enumerated below.

1. Race

2. Sex

3. Age

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Forensic Analysis

4. Stature

5. Teeth

6. Hair

7. Religion

8. Fingerprints

9. Footprints

10.Tattoos

11. Scar marks

12. Anthropological factors

A thread that binds parameters such as race, sex, age and stature is human
osteology or forensic Osteology. Bones and teeth of the skeleton resist putrefaction
or decay. Hence they are a cornerstone for the determination of individual exis-
tence. Scientists employ their knowledge of the human skeleton in interpreting the
bones and thus help in identification.
Human forensic osteology is the study or application or knowledge of human
bones in the field of forensic science to assist the administration of justice.
In this chapter, we will mainly consider race, age and sex parameters.

2. Race

Human bone measurements play vital role in the determination of race. The
important bones that are useful for race determination are the skull and the long
bones of the limbs. Various indexes are given for these.
Index is defined as a percentage expression of the ratio of a smaller dimension
over the larger one.

2.1 Cepahalic index

The cephalic index (CI) is calculated from the skull according to the following
equation:

ðcephalic width=cephalic lengthÞ  100 (1)

Cephalic length is the distance between the most anterior and posterior point of
the outer table of the skull or occipitofrontal diameter (OFD). Cephalic width is the
distance between the outer skull tables at the widest points of the skull or biparietal
diameter BPD [2]. Cohens [3] classifies race on the basis of cephalic index as
dolichocephaly (long headed) up to 75.9 e.g. Pure Aryans, Caucoids and Negroids,
mesocephaly (round headed): 76.8–80.9 e.g. in few Caucoids (Europeans) and
Mangoloids, and brachycephaly (Short headed): 81.0–85.4 e.g. Mongoloids, with
hyperbrachycephaly exceeding 85.5 e.g. Kyushu of Japan.

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2.2 Nasal index

Nasal anthropometry is the study of proportion, shape and size of the nose in
human beings. The nasal index is the ratio of nasal width to nasal height multiplied
by 100.

Nasal Index ¼ Nasal Width  100=Nasal Height (2)

It also exhibits sexual differences and has become an important tool in forensic
studies. The general shape of the nasal base has long been broadly classified as the
leptorrhine or long/narrow nose, the mesorrhine or medium nose and the platyr-
rhine or short broad nose [4].
Leptorrhine: Lesser than 70. Caucoids
Mesorrhine: 70–85 Mangloids
Platyrrhine: greater than 85; Negroids
In a study in Nigeria on Igbo and Yoruba males and females, it was observed that
both had the same type of nose Platyrrhine, but differences still existed. The report
showed that the Igbo males and females had mean nasal indices of 95.8  0.44 and
90.80.61 respectively while the Yoruba males and females had mean nasal indices
of 90.00.38 and 88.10.47 respectively. The Igbo (Total) had mean nasal indices
of 94.1  0.37 while the Yoruba (Total) had mean nasal indices of 89.20.30. The
mean nasal indices of Igbo males and females were significantly higher than those of
Yoruba males and females [5].

3. Age

Age determination from humans is one of the important tasks desired by law
enforcement agencies for medico-legal cases. Absolute or chronological age is the
number of years an individual has lived since birth. In other words, it is the age that
is mentioned on the passports or other important documents of the person. Biolog-
ical age is the age of the person gauged from the physical wellbeing of the person
[6]. Environment, health conditions, exercise, yoga and healthy eating habits affect
the biological age, not the chronological age. The difference between chronological
and biological age is minimal in juveniles, but it increases afterwards [7].
In fetuses and children, age can be estimated from the appearance of ossification
centres, development of bones and eruption and calcification of the teeth. There are
approximately 806 ossification centers at the 11th prenatal week, 406 ossification
centres at birth and 206 bones in the adult. The ossification centres enlarge in size and
joints to nearby ossification centres and thus give rise to the bones in the adult skeleton
[7]. A fetus’ age is best given in lunar months although it is also given in weeks of
pregnancy. In decomposed fetal bodies, it is best to have the fetal body X-rayed [8].
But in skeletonised fetuses, various bones dissociate, thus X-rays are not helpful. The
presence of the primary ossification centre of the talus, calcaneum, cuboid and the
secondary ossification centre in the femur and tibia around the knee joint point toward
full term pregnancy [9]. The major ossification centres appear [10] as follows:

At Birth: calcaneum, talus, femur distal end, tibia proximal end, cuboid,
humerus head.
At Second Month: capitate, hamate, lateral cuneiform.
At 3 month: femus head, capitulum, tibia distal end.
At 6th month: fibula distal end.
At 7th month: humerus, greater tuberosity, radius distal end.

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Forensic Analysis

At 10th month: triquetrum.

At 11th month: third finger-first phalanx, first toe-second phalanx.
At 12th month: second finger-first phalanx, fourth finger-first phalanx, first
finger-second phalanx.
At 13th month: third toe-first phalanx, second metacarpal, medial cuneiform.
At 14th month: fourth toe – first phalanx, second toe – first phalanx fifth toe-
second phalanx.
At 15th month: third metacarpal, second toe-second phalanx, fifth finger-first
phalanx.
At 16 month: fourth toe-second phalanx, fourth metacarpal.
At 18th month: fifth metacarpal, second, third and fourth finger-second
phalanx.
At 20th month: first toe-first phalanx, middle cuneiform [10].

Fetal age can be determined by crown heel length (CHL). According to Hasse’s
rule which is a crude method to determine fetal age, in the first 5 months of fetal
life, the square root of crown heel length measured in cm, will give the age of fetus
in months. As with the Morrison rule, after five months of fetal life, the crown heel
length in cm is divided by the number five to reach the fetal age in months.
In the mandible and maxilla, the primary centre of ossification appears at 6
weeks, while in frontal bones ossification begins in 6–7 weeks, and in the temporal
bone, ossification appears in 7–8 weeks. In occipital bone, ossification centre
appears in 8–10 weeks of intrauterine life [11].
The appearance of secondary ossification centre [11] appear as shown in Table 1.
In adult skeletonised remains, epiphyseal closure or fusion is more commonly
seen than ossification centres. This process of closure usually starts from 12 to
14 years and chronologically happens earlier in females as compared to males.
Stevenson [12] described four stages of fusion as follows:

1. First Stage or No fusion: On gross examination of skeletal remains, there is a

clear cut hiatus in between the epiphysis and diaphysis. The margins of the
epiphysis and diaphysis is serrated or saw-toothed.

2. Second Stage or Beginning of fusion: There is a clear cut line in between the
epiphysis and diaphysis. The first phase hiatus is replaced by formation of new
bone leaving only a line of separation. The saw-toothed appearance of margins
in the epiphysis or diaphysis as evident in the first stage, is also blurred or lost.

3. Third stage or recent union: The clear cut line in the second stage is as
appreciable as the fine line. This stage is sometimes difficult to appreciate.

4. Fourth stage or stage of complete union: This stage represents complete fusion.
Sometimes, a very faint epiphyseal line is appreciable throughout life.

Loth [13] described that the order of epiphyseal closure of various joints is as
follows. First the elbow is followed by the hip, followed by the ankle, followed by
the knee, followed by the wrist, and last in the shoulder joint.

3.1 Sternum

The sternum is made of the manubrium, body of the sternum and the xiphi-
sternum. The body of the sternum is the middle-most part and is composed of four
parts. The fusion of the sternum is variable. Different authors have expressed

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Sr. No. Bones Parts Age

Shaft Birth

Medial Epicondyle 12–14

Lateral Epicondyle 19–20

Humeral shaft Birth

Humeral head 2–6 months

Humeral Capitulum By 1st Year

Humeral Greater Tubercle 6 months-2 years

Humeral Lesser Tubercle 4+ years

Humeral medial epicondyle 4+ years

Humeral Trochlea 8 year

Humeral Lateral Epicondyle 10th year

Radius Shaft Birth

Radial distal Epiphysis 1–2 years

Radial head 5th year

Radial styloid process 8th year

Ulnar shaft Birth

Ulnar distal Epiphysis 5–7 years

Ulnar styloid process and olecranon 8–10 years

Pelvis Birth

Femoral shaft Birth

Femoral distal epiphysis Birth

Femoral Greater trochanter 2–5 years

Femoral lesser trochanter 7–12 years

Tibial Shaft Birth

Tibial proximal epiphysis Birth

Tibial Medial Malleolus 3–5 years

Tibial Tuberosity 8–13 years

Fibular Shaft Birth

Fibular distal epiphysis 9–12 years

Table 1.
Showing appearance secondary ossification Centre from bones.

different views. Sternebra are numbered from upwards to downwards as 1 to 4.

Sternebra 3 fuses with 4 between the ages 4 and 15. Sternebra 2 fuses with 1 and 3
by the ages of between 11 and 20. The manubrium fuses with sternebra 1 by
between the ages of 15 and 25 years [7]. The xiphoid fuses with sternebra 4 in
older age.
Garg [14] conducted a radiological study on 150 living subjects by doing lateral
view X-rays of the sternum in the age group of 35–65 years whose exact age is
known by available official documents and where the entire sternum was intact
without disease and deformity. He concluded that complete fusion of the
xiphisternun with the body of the sternum occurred by 56–59 years and only 40%
manubrium fused with body of sternum by 65 years.

5
Forensic Analysis

Mean Closure Value Mean Age SD Range Age Category

0.4–1.5 28.6 13.08 15–40 Juvenile-young adult

1.6–2.5 43.7 14.46 30–60 Young-middle adult

2.6–2.9 49.1 16.40 35–65 Young-middle adult

3.0–3.9 60 13.23 45–75 Middle-old adult

4.0 65.4 14.05 50–80 Middle-old adult

Table 2.
Showing estimation of age by cranial suturel closure [6] by mean Acsadi score.

3.2 Cranial sutures

Cranial sutures are extensively studied by different authors for age estimation.
Cranial Sutures usually fuse in adult life except the metopic suture. The metopic
suture fuses by the age of 1 to 4 years. The fusion of the cranial suture in adult life is
studied both endocranially and ectocranially. Cranial sutures are assessed in three
sections or parts: palate is also studied along with endocranial and ectocranial study
of cranial sutures.
Recently also the method devised by Acsadi and Nemeskeri [6] has been widely
used. They studied sagittal, coronal and lambdoid sutures for the purpose of age
estimation. They divided the coronal suture into three parts, the sagittal suture into
four parts and the lambdoid suture into three parts – in total 16 sections. Then they
studied closure of sutures and gave scores as follows:

Score 0: Open suture.

Score 1: Suture line is closed but clearly visible and continuous.
Score 2: Suture line is thinner and may be interrupted by complete closure at
places.
Score 3: At the suture line, only pits are available.
Score 4: Suture is completely obliterated.

Each of 16 sections described above was examined and awarded scores and a
mean value was calculated, then that mean closure value was compared by the
Table 2 given below and the mean age was calculated and the age category was
noted.
In young adult life, the incisival palatine suture is closed with activity seen at
transverse and posterior palatine suture. The anterior palatine remains completely
open. In middle-aged adult life, the incisival transverse and posterior palatine
suture are closed. The interior palatine remains partially open. In old age, all pala-
tine sutures are fused [15].
There are many more bones from which age can be found. The bones described
here are the bones which are frequently examined by forensic anthropologists.

4. Sex

In humans, it is very difficult to determine sex from skeletal remains. Until

adolescence, the human skeleton is immature and starts maturing at puberty or
adolescence and thus attains complete maturity in adulthood. Thus, sex determina-
tion with accuracy in young to adult life is difficult as many factors overlap.

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Sr. No Bones Available Accuracy of Sex determination Accuracy of Sex determination

by Krogman [16] by Stewart [17]

1 Entire Skeleton 100% 90–95%

2 Pelvis + Skull 98% —

3 Pelvis + Long Bones 98% —

4 Skull Alone 98% 80%

5 Pelvis alone 95% —

6 Long bones only 80% —

7 Skull + mandible — 90%

Table 3.
Showing accuracy of sexual identification from bones.

Krogman [16] studied a sample of 750 adult skeletons (white and black, male
and female) from the Harmann-Todd collection and Stewart [17] also determined
sex and found as shown in Table 3.
Sex can be determined by two methods – morphological and metric. The mor-
phological method of assessing sex is by reference to the differences in skeletal
remains on the basis of gross examination. It relies on the specific bony traits and
muscular markings etc. to differentiate the skeletal remains. The advantage of the
morphological method is that sex-specific bony characteristics remain unique in
spite of population variations. But gross examination of morphological characteris-
tics of the skeleton has disadvantages such as inter- and intra-observer errors,
observer experience, and standardization and statistical analysis problems. This
gross morphological method of determining sex is challenged by modern morpho-
logical methods such as the geometric morphometric technique [18] and elliptical
Fourier analysis [19].
Earlier in the gross morphology technique, the skeletal remains are observed in
two dimensions and now by reference to the geometric morphometric technique,
the shape differences are first observed and then quantified in three dimensions
digitally. Thus, this technique reduces the inter- and intra-observer errors. This new
technique works well at a population level but it is very difficult to apply to
individuals. Nowadays, a number of sex dimorphic characters are studied morpho-
metrically and then statistically analyzed by discriminant function analysis, logistic
regression and neural networking.

4.1 Pelvis

4.1.1 Morphological assessment

The human pelvis consists of 3 bones namely the hip bone, the sacrum and the
coccyx. The hip bone consists of 3 parts i.e. the ilium, the ischium and the pubis.
The pelvis is the most sexually dimorphic bone of the human skeleton as it deter-
mines the sex very accurately. The pelvis is the most widely studied bone to deter-
mine sex from unknown skeletal remains. As Krogman [20] has identified, the
pelvis can identify correct sex in 95% (Table 3) of cases from unknown skeletal
remains. Table 4 enumerates classical morphological sex differences from pelvis.
Phenice [21] studied 275 adult individual already sexed pelvises from the Terry
collection with three visual traits named the ventral arc, the subpubic concavity and
the medial aspect of ischiopubic ramus and found sex with 95% accuracy. He also

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Forensic Analysis

Sr. No Characters of bone Male Females

1 Pelvis as a whole Massive, rugged, marked muscle Less massive, gracile, smoother
sites

2 Symphysis Higher Lower

3 Subpubic angle V-shaped (<90°) U-shaped: rounded;broader

divergent obtuse angle (>90°)

4 Subpubic shape Convex Concave

5 Pubic bone shape Triangular Rectangular

6 Ventral arc Absent, not well Well defined

7 Obturator foramen Large, often ovoid Small, triangular

8 Acetabulum Large, tends to be directed Small, tends to be directed

laterally anterolaterally

9 Greater sciatic Smaller, close, deep Larger, wider, shallower

notch

10 Ischiopubic rami Slightly everted Strongly everted

11 Sacroiliac joint Large Small, oblique

12 Auricular surface Raised Flat

13 Postauricular space Narrow Wide

14 Preauricular sulcus Not frequent More frequent, better developed

15 Postauricular sulcus Not frequent More frequent, sharper auricular

surface edge

16 Ilium High, tends to be Vertical Lower, laterally divergent

17 Iliac tuberosity Large, not pointed Small or absent, pointed or varied

18 Sacrum Longer, narrower, with more Shorter, broader, with tendency of

evenly distributed curvature; marked curvature at S1–2 and S2–5;
often 5 or more segments 5 segments the rule

19 Pelvic brim,or inlet Heart shaped Circular, elliptical

20 True pelvis, or Relatively smaller Oblique, shallow, spacious

cavity

Table 4.
Shows classical morphological sex differences from pelvis.

found that the ventral arc is the least ambiguous and medial aspect of the
ischiopubic ramus as the most ambiguous trait among the three traits studied.
Kelley [22] observed after applying the Phenice technique in 392 mature pelvis
of both sexes from collection from University of California, Berkeley and Sacra-
mento State University that the Phenice method of sexing with three virtual traits is
very reliable and also found that fewer intermediate features are present with the
ventral arc and if intermediate features are present in two or all the three traits, then
the pelvis is of the female sex.
Bruzek [23] found 95% accuracy in sex determination by using a new visual
method taking into account five traits of the hip bone, namely the preauricular
sulcus, the greater sciatic notch, the composite arch, the morphology of the inferior
pelvis and ischiopubic proportions.
Bytheway [24] studied thirty-six traits digitally of 200 African and European
American male and female adult humans’ coxae and showed that sex and size have a
significant effect on shape for both European Americans. The discriminant analysis

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shows that sexing accuracy for European Americans is 98% for both males and
females, 98% for African American females, and 100% for African American males.
Iscan and Derrick [25] developed a gross assessment method for sex determina-
tion using the sacroiliac joint with three structures which included the post-
auricular sulcus, the postauricular space and the iliac tuberosity. They found these
to be highly accurate in determining sex.

4.1.2 Metric assessment

There are multiple studies suggesting various indices to access sexual

dimorphism.

4.1.2.1 Turner pelvic index

Turner [26] described the shape of the pelvic inlet based on the conjugate
diameter (anteroposterior diameter) and transverse diameter of pelvic inlet. It is
also known as the Brim Index.

Brim Index ¼ Turner Pelvic Index

¼ ðConjugate diameter ðanteroposterior diameter (3)
∗ 100=transverse diameter of pelvic inletÞ

On the basis of the index, Turner divided inlet into three classes as follows
Platypellic = less than 90 (90 not included)
Mesatipellic = 90 to 95 (both 90 and 95 included)
Dolichopellic = greater than 95 (95 not included)

He found that the brim index in males is somewhat lower than in females.

4.1.2.2 Ischiopubic index (Washburn index)

The ishchiopubic index is given by Washburn [27]. It is calculated as follows

ðPubic length ∗ 100=Ischial LengthÞ (4)

Both lengths can be measured with a vernier caliper from the point in the
acetabulum where the ilium, ischium and pubis fuse, which may be a notch, raised
or irregular area in the acetabulum. The caliper should be held parallel to the long
axis of the bone. The author also suggested that the index alone will determine sex
from skeletal remains of any one particular population race by up to over 90%.
However, overlapping may occur in the skeletal remains of different races as found
in white males and black females (Table 5).

Population Male Female

White 73–94 (83.6  4) 91–115 (99.5  5.1)

Black 71–88 (79.9  4) 84–104 (95  4.6)

Table 5.
Showing ischiopubic index in white and blacks.

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Forensic Analysis

4.1.2.3 Sciatic notch index

The sciatic notch index is given by dividing the hundred times width of sciatic
notch with its depth.

ðWidth of the sacrum=diameter of sacrumÞ ∗ 100 (5)

In adult males: 145; in adult females: 166.

In the male fetus: 4–5; in the female fetus: 5–6.

4.1.2.4 Chilotic line index

The chilotic line index is obtained by dividing the hundred times length of the
sacral part of the pectineal line with the pubic part of pectineal line.

ðSacral part of pectineal line=pubic part of pectineal lineÞ ∗ 100 (6)

In males: the CLI is greater than 100, In females: the CLI is less than 100.
These indexes are not used routinely. Nowadays, discriminant function analysis
is used by anthropologists. This was first used by Howells [28]. He worked on
Gaillard’s skeletal collection (75 males, 69 females) and took four parameters, ischial
and pubic lengths and the index obtained from it, he took four measurements of the
greater sciatic notch and acetabular region. These included sciatic height,
cotylosciatic length (shortest distance from acetabular rim to greater sciatic notch),
cotylopubic length (from acetabular rim to pubic symphysis) and the difference
between SS-SA, in which SS is the distance between the anterior superior iliac spine
and the closest point on the greater sciatic notch, and SA is the distance between the
anterior superior iliac spine and the closest point on the auricular surface (Table 6).
In another study, Dixit [29] observed twelve measurements and five indices
from 100 human hip bones of unknown sex of Indian origin. Each of the hip bones
was classified as male, female and intermediate on the basis of morphological
characters. Afterwards discriminant function analysis was done and it was observed
that sex can be accessed with greater accuracy from parameters such as the

From Howells [28] Male Female

Dimension (mm) Mean S.D. Mean S.D.

X1 Ischial length 96.9 5.65 89.3 5.00

X2 Pubic length 93.2 6.48 97.0 5.31

X3 Ischiopubic index 96.2 3.81 108.7 4.18

X4 Sciatic height 41.0 4.80 47.1 5.32

X4 Cotylosciatic length 40.1 3.13 37.2 3.97

X5 Cotylopubic length 29.7 2.71 24.8 2.63

X6 SS-SA 1.4 3.88 7.7 4.33

Discriminant Function Formulae Section Point % Correct

Y ¼ 0:7717X1–0:636X2 11.3 97.8

Y ¼ 0:8285X6 þ 0:517X7–0:1148X4–0:1819X5 9.2 93.1

Y ¼ 0:4514X6 þ 0:3253X7 þ 0:6071X1–0:0993X4–0:1345X5–0:05421X2 9.3 96.5

Table 6.
Showing discriminant function coefficients for determining sex from the Os Coxa.

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acetabular height (vertical diameter) and indices 1 (total pelvic height/acetabular

height), 2 (midpubic width/acetabular height) and 3 (pubic length/acetabular
height). Pelvic brim depth, minimum width of ischiopubic ramus and indices 4
(pelvic brim chord * pelvic brim depth) and 5 (pubic length * 100/ischial length)
were also good discriminators of sex. The remaining parameters used in the study
were not significant as they showed a lot of overlap between the male and female
categories. The results indicated that one exclusive criterion for sexing was index 3
(pubic length/acetabular height).

4.2 Sacrum

The sacrum is a large flattened triangular bone formed by the fusion of five
sacral vertebrae and forming the posterosuperior part of bony pelvis. It articulates
on either side with the corresponding innominate or hip bone forming sacroiliac
joint. Morphological and metric differences of sex determination are given in the
Table 7.

4.2.1 Sacral index

The sacral index [30] is given by dividing the hundred times length of anterior
superior breadth of the sacrum at the first sacral vertebrae with anterior length of
sacrum. The anterior length was measured along the midline from the antero-
superior margin of the promontory to the middle of antero-inferior margin of the
last sacral vertebra. The anterior superior breadth was measured between the
lateralmost points of the ala of the sacrum.

Sacral Index
¼ ð100 ∗ Anterior superior breadth of sacrum=Anterior length of the sacrumÞ
(7)

The study [30] also calculated the demarcating point (DP) which increases the
accuracy by 100%. The range of sacral index in male is 80.7–106.4 and in females is
93.1–108.8 and DP for sacral index in males is less than 90.29 and in females is
greater than 112.43.
In a study [31] done on 150 fully ossified dry human sacrums (59 male and 91
females), it was observed that the mean straight length of sacrum in the male and in
the female was 104.275.76 mm and 92.827.59 mm respectively. The mean width
of sacrum in the male and the female was 99.515.80 mm and 102.986.69 mm
respectively. The mean sacral indices were 95.423.14 and 111.277.66 in males and
females respectively.

Sr. No Trait Male Females

1 Size and shape Longer, Narrower Shorter, wider

2 Curvature More evenly distributed Curvature not seen in the upper

half, lower half curves suddenly

3 Sacral Promontry Well marked Less marked

4 Body of first sacral vertbra Larger Smaller

5 Sacroiliac articulation Large, Extends to 2.5to 3 Small, Extends to 2 to 2.5 vertebrae

vertebrae

Table 7.
Showing difference in human sacrum with respect to sex.

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Forensic Analysis

4.2.2 Kimura base wing index

Kimura [32] examined 300 sacrums (103 Japanese sacra from the Yokohama
City Medical School, 100 American whites and 97 American blacks) and obtained
the transverse width of the sacral base, transverse width of the wing and the index
as follows.

Kimura base wing index

¼ ð100 ∗ transverse width of wing=Breadth or transverse width of Ist sacral vertebraÞ
(8)

The Kimura base wing index is also known as the Alar Index. In males it is less
than 65 and in females: it is more than 80.
Patel [33] observed that the sacral index results are more reliable than the
Kimura base wing index.
Valojerdy studied 153 dry human sacrums of Indian origin [34], and found that
the size of the articular surface was studied in sacro-iliac joints. He found that the
articular surface on sacral and iliac surfaces in males is longer and larger in surface
area than in females.

4.2.3 Corporo-basal index

The corporo-basal index is the transverse diameter of body of the sacrum S1

when the breadth of the sacrum is 100

Corporo basal Index

¼ Transverse diameter of body of S1 ∗ 100=Maximum breadth of sacrum
(9)

Maddikunta [35] studied 60 adult sacrums from Telengana, India (27 male, 33
female) and calculated the corpora-basal index and demarking point and observed
that the range in males is 39.0–53.77 and in females is 27.43–32.67 and the
demarking point in males and females is >57.81 mm and <32.02 mm respectively.

4.3 Skull

Th skull is very important for aging and sex differentiation. Sexing can be done
with the help of morphological as well as metric characters. As Krogman [16] has
identified, if only the skull is available from bony remains, sex can be given cor-
rectly up to 98% of the time (Table 3). Differences in male and female skull on the
basis of morphological characters are given below in Table 8.
Buikstra et al. [15] concluded that five traits of the skull should be regarded as
able to differentiate sex:

i. Robusticity of the nuchal crest,

ii. Size of the mastoid process,

iii. Sharpness of the supraorbital margin,

iv. Prominence of the glabella, and

v. Projection of the mental eminence

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S. No Feature Male skull Female skull

1 General appearance Larger, heavier, rugged, Smaller, lighter, walls

marked muscular ridges thinner, smoother

2 Forehead Receding, irregular, rough, less Vertical, round, full,

rounded infantile, smooth

3 Cranial capacity More capacious (1450–1550 cc) Less capacious (1300–

1350 cc)

4 Glabella Prominent Less prominent

5 Supraorbital/Superciliary ridge Prominent Less prominent

6 Frontonasal junction Distinct angulation Smoothly curved

7 Orbits Square, rounded margins, small Rounded, sharp margins,

large

8 Frontal and parietal eminence Less prominent Prominent

9 Zygomatic arch Prominent Not prominent

10 Occipital area (Muscle markings Prominent Not prominent

and protuberance)

11 Mastoid process Large, round, blunt Small, smooth, pointed

12 Digastric groove Deep Shallow

13 Condylar facet Long, narrow Short, broad

14 Palate Large, U-shaped, broad Small, parabolic

15 Foramen magnum Relatively large, long Small, round

16 External auditory meatus Bony ridge along upper border Often absent
prominent

Table 8.
Showing morphological differences in male and female skulls.

The above features are examined independently and scores 1 to 5 is given. A

score of 1 is definitely female, 2 is probably female, 3 is ambiguous, 4 is probably
male and 5 is definitely male.
Rogers [36] examined 46 identified skulls from a cemetery in Belleville, Canada.
He examined 17 morphological features of the skull commonly used to determine
the sex of unknown skeletal remains. He observed that traits such as nasal aperture,
zygomatic extension, malar size/rugosity, and supraorbital ridge are the most use-
ful; chin form and nuchal crest are the second most useful followed by mastoid size
as a tertiary consideration; nasal size and mandibular symphysis/ramus size rank
fourth; forehead shape ranks fifth; and palate size/shape are sixth. Skull size/archi-
tecture provides an internal standard to assess the relative sizes of other traits.

4.4 Mandible

The mandible is a very important bone in sex determination. Stewart [17]

observed that if the mandible along with the skull are the only available bones out of
skeletal remains, sex can be determined with 90% accuracy. The projection of
mental eminence is one of five characteristics suggested by Buikstra and Ubelakar
[15] for sex discrimination (Table 9).
Loth [37] examined a sample of 300 mandibles from the Dart collection with
known sex. 100 showed bony pathologies and tooth loss. Thus these pathological
samples of mandibles were not considered in main study. Of the remaining 200,

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S. No Feature Male mandible Female mandible

1 General appearance Larger, thicker Smaller, thinner

2 Chin (symphysis menti) Square or U-shaped Rounded

3 Angle of body with ramus Less obtuse (< 125°), prominent More obtuse, not prominent

4 Angle of mandible (gonion) Everted Inverted

5 Body height at symphysis Greater Smaller

6 Ascending ramus Greater breadth Smaller breadth

7 Ramus flexure Rearward angulation of the Straight ramus

posterior border of ramus

8 Muscular markings Prominent Not prominent

Table 9.
Showing morphological differences for sex determination from mandible.

normative samples consisted of 116 males and 84 females. After careful macro-
scopic examination, Loth discovered a new trait known as flexure at the level of the
molar occlusal surface in adult males. It is a male developmental character that is
developed after adolescence. Females retain the straight juvenile shape of the man-
dibular ramus. Since male develop distinct angulation of the posterior border of
mandibular ramus, it usually appears near the neck of condyle or along with gonial
prominence or eversion. In the sample of 200, sex was able to be determined in 99%
of mandibles. The same parameter was also applied to discarded or pathological
samples of mandibles; it yielded 91% accuracy in sex determination.
Kemkes-Grottenthaler [38] investigated the reliability of two mandibular traits:
ramus flexure and gonial eversion. The study was done on two samples, one of
forensic (N = 153) and one of archeological provenance (N = 80). It was observed
that for ramus flexure, male accuracy was only 66%, while female accuracy was
even lower (32%). Overall accuracy was 59%. For gonial eversion, a similar picture
emerged (75.4% for males, 45.2% for females and 69.3% overall accuracy). Both
these indicators are affected by intra- as well as inter-observer bias.
With the development of multiple discriminant function analysis, formulae for
various populations have been published taking into consideration various inter-
correlated dimensions as well as the degree of difference between sexes.

4.5. Scapula

The scapula is not widely used for sex discrimination. However, a few studies
are available. Iordanidis [39] has taken into account scapular height and breadth,
total length of the spine and width of the glenoid cavity, calculated by upper and
lower limit for discriminating between each sex (Table 10).

Traits Male Female

Scapular Height >157 <144

Scapular Breadth .106 <93

Total Length of spine >141 <128

Width of glenoid cavity >29 <26

Table 10.
Showing sex determination by scapula measurements (from Iordanidis [39]).

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4.6. Clavicle

The clavicle is also used very rarely in the discrimination of sex from skeletal
remains. However, recently a number of authors have show, interest in the clavicle
for sex discrimination.
The costoclavicular (rhomboid) ligament joins the first rib anterior to the clavi-
cle to give stability to the pectoral girdle. During this process, sometimes it leaves a
depression known as the rhomboid fossa or tubercle or roughened impression, deep
fossa or no trace at all. Rogers [40] found correlation with the rhomboid fossa and
sex. If the rhomboid fossa is present on the clavicle, the clavicle is of male sex.

5. Conclusions

Forensic osteology is an important part of identification for the criminal justice

system. In the past, we talked about morphological ways of sexing more then metric
methods and now neural networking is coming for sexing. Further studies must be
done so that we can enrich our knowledge.

Acknowledgements

We want to thank open source Intech Publishers and the editor of Forensic
Analysis who invited us to write a chapter in this book. We also would like to thank
all the authors whose hard work, articles and literature make our knowledge and
understanding rich. But, at this stage of life, we are still learning. This concept of
open source publication is very encouraging for all those who cannot pay and want
to learn. This is our effort to reproduce the work of all the referenced authors and
editors in our own language for the better understanding of our readers. Thanks.

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest is present.

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Forensic Analysis

Author details

Anil Garg1 and Nisha Goyal2*

1 Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, BPS Government Medical

College for Women, Sonipat, Haryana, India

2 Department of Human Anatomy, Rama Medical College Hospital, Hapur,

Uttar Pradesh, India

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

© 2021 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.

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Forensic Osteology and Identification
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99358

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