The influence of age on greater sciatic notch morphology: testing the Walker method in an Australian population (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
To identify the sex determination of an unknown person from the skeleton remains the first and primary important step come across by the anatomical, forensic and archaeological experts. Many researchers have considered various parameters for sex determination using hip bone. The current study was carried out to identify the sex of hip bone using various dimensions of the greater sciatic notch. Adult hip bones of a known person were studied and evaluated. The hip bones were assessed using various parameters. The posterior segment, posterior angle and index II of a hip bone were found to be more helpful in sex determination.
A Geometric Morphometric Approach to Sex Estimation of the Greater Sciatic Notch
MSc Dissertation, University of Exeter, 2020
Sex estimation is one of the first analyses carried out on unidentified skeletal remains, and new methods for accurate and reliable sex estimation are constantly being created and tested to determine the sex of unknown individuals. This project was undertaken in order to assess the reliability of morphological scales in comparison to geomorphic morphometric (GMM) techniques for sex estimation of the greater sciatic notch. The study analyses the pelvises of a medieval (11th-15th century AD) skeletal population from Exeter, England to assess the morphology of the greater sciatic notch and its potential for the application of geomorphic morphometric techniques. Currently, sex estimation of the greater sciatic notch is often undertaken using Walker’s standardised ordinal scale, which is based on a modern American population, to assign a specimen as either masculine, feminine or indeterminate. The reliability of this scale on archaeological samples will be assessed to determine the differences in accuracy when applying an ordinal scale versus GMM analyses to the greater sciatic notch. Thus, it is necessary to also determine the viability and reliability of assigning sex in such a way. The results of this study indicate that, by using GMM in conjunction with coding, there are statistically significant differences in male and female greater sciatic notch shape. This study found it was possible to write and execute commands to predict the sex of an individual of unknown sex based solely on their sciatic notch, in tandem with the data gathered from other previously sexed specimens within the same sample.
Sex Estimation from the Greater Sciatic Notch of the Human Pelvis: A Geometric Morphometric Approach
2014
Kenyhercz 2012). Given the broad range of classification rates when examining the os pubis alone, the use of the Phenice (1969) or Klales et al. (2012) methods alone is not sufficiently reliable. However, incorporation of the sciatic notch would improve classification rates over the use of the pubic region alone. Another commonly referenced method of visual assessment of sex considers multiple features of the entire innominate bone (Bruzek 2002). In an attempt to address issues of subjectivity in other methods, Bruzek examined sex differences in the morphology of five pelvic features: aspects of the preauricular surface, aspects of the greater sciatic notch, the form of the composite arch, the morphology of the inferior pelvis, and ischiopubic proportions. The characteristics of these features were described as having male, female, or intermediate forms of expression, and the total numbers of female or male traits were compared to estimate sex (Bruzek 2002). This method was applied ...
Technical Note: Geometric Morphometrics and Sexual, 2013
The greater sciatic notch (GSN) is one of the most important and frequently used characteristics for determining the sex of skeletons, but objective assessment of this characteristic is not without its difficulties. We tested the robustness of GSN sex classification on the basis of geometric morphometrics (GM) and support vector machines (SVM), using two different population samples. Using photographs, the shape of the GSN in 229 samples from two assemblages (documented collections of a Euroamerican population from the Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico, and a Hispanic population from Universidad Nacional Aut onoma de M exico, Mexico City) was segmented automatically and evaluated using six curve representations. The optimal dimensionality for each representation was determined by finding the best sex classification. The classification accuracy of the six curve representations in our study was similar but the highest and concurrently homologous cross-validated accuracy of 92% was achieved for a pooled sample using Fourier coefficient and Legendre polynomial methods. The success rate of our classification was influenced by the number of semilandmarks or coefficients and was only slightly affected by GSN marginal point positions. The intrapopulation variability of the female GSN shape was significantly lower compared with the male variability, possibly as a consequence of the intense selection pressure associated with reproduction. Males were misclassified more often than females. Our results show that by using a suitable GSN curve representation, a GM approach, and SVM analysis, it is possible to obtain a robust separation between the sexes that is stable for a multipopulation sample. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:558-565,
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
The greater sciatic notch (GSN) is one of the most important and frequently used characteristics for determining the sex of skeletons, but objective assessment of this characteristic is not without its difficulties. We tested the robustness of GSN sex classification on the basis of geometric morphometrics (GM) and support vector machines (SVM), using two different population samples. Using photographs, the shape of the GSN in 229 samples from two assemblages (documented collections of a Euroamerican population from the Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico, and a Hispanic population from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City) was segmented automatically and evaluated using six curve representations. The optimal dimensionality for each representation was determined by finding the best sex classification. The classification accuracy of the six curve representations in our study was similar but the highest and concurrently homologous cross-validated accuracy of 92% wa...
American journal of physical anthropology, 2013
The greater sciatic notch (GSN) is one of the most important and frequently used characteristics for determining the sex of skeletons, but objective assessment of this characteristic is not without its difficulties. We tested the robustness of GSN sex classification on the basis of geometric morphometrics (GM) and support vector machines (SVM), using two different population samples. Using photographs, the shape of the GSN in 229 samples from two assemblages (documented collections of a Euroamerican population from the Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico, and a Hispanic population from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City) was segmented automatically and evaluated using six curve representations. The optimal dimensionality for each representation was determined by finding the best sex classification. The classification accuracy of the six curve representations in our study was similar but the highest and concurrently homologous cross-validated accuracy of 92% was achieved for a pooled sample using Fourier coefficient and Legendre polynomial methods. The success rate of our classification was influenced by the number of semilandmarks or coefficients and was only slightly affected by GSN marginal point positions. The intrapopulation variability of the female GSN shape was significantly lower compared with the male variability, possibly as a consequence of the intense selection pressure associated with reproduction. Males were misclassified more often than females. Our results show that by using a suitable GSN curve representation, a GM approach, and SVM analysis, it is possible to obtain a robust separation between the sexes that is stable for a multipopulation sample. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:558-565, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Forensic Imaging, 2024
Assigned sex estimation via the greater sciatic notch (GSN) is traditionally performed via physical/visual examination and ordinal scoring; however, this relies on the subjective assessment of morphology for typological classification which may not be reflective of human variation. Three-dimensional (3D) photogrammetry may offer a technologically advanced, low cost, and more objective alternative to assess the complex curvature of anatomical landmarks. This research explores the accuracy of photogrammetry derived 3D models by comparing digital measurements to those obtained from the skeletal elements and to streamline the application of curvature analysis for the estimation of assigned sex from the GSN. This study utilizes the left and right os coxae from 15 skeletal individuals (5 females, 10 males) from the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. A Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujifilm 35 mm prime lens captured 123 images per element, which were processed in Meshroom by AliceVision® to create a 3D textured mesh. The mesh was exported into Blender for cleanup, scaling, measurement, and curvature analysis. The measurements were between 96.54 % and 99.94 % consistent across methods and observations. The consistency between digital metric observations increased by an average of 0.07 % when compared to the consistency of the dry bone measurements. Additionally, curvature analysis of the GSN correctly estimated the assigned sex of all os coxae in the sample. This study demonstrates that photogrammetry is an accurate and reliable method for the digitization of remains that enables analytical techniques to better capture skeletal variation compared to traditional methods.
Forensic Science International, 2012
Three-dimensional pelvic images were reconstructed from multi-slice CT data of contemporary Japanese (males: 124; females: 104, 25-92 years old), and curvature analysis to examine sexual dimorphism was carried out in the great sciatic notch (GSN), the pubic arch and the greater pelvis in the images. Reconstructed pelvic CT images were visualized fairly well and anatomical landmarks were easily recognizable. When calculating the radii (curvature radii) of the best-fit circles for the spline curve lines set along the edges of the GSNs and of the pubic arches, sexes from these regions were correctly identified in 89.1% (males: 93.8%; females: 83.7%) and 94.7% (males: 97.3%; females: 91.8%) of cases, respectively, by setting an appropriate cutoff value. Furthermore, sexing was possible even in deeper regions of the GSN which are relatively resistant to postmortem damage. Curvature radii of the best-fit spheres of greater pelves showed no significant difference between sexes. However, curvature of the best-fit sphere for the left iliac fossa was significantly larger than that of the right one (p < 10 À24) in males, and the ratios were >1.0 in 88% of all male specimens analyzed. Meanwhile, no significant difference was observed among female samples. Although some left-sided dominancy has been reported in 2-dimensional measurements of the human pelvis, this 3-dimensional laterality in males was much more significant, and is a potential index of sex difference.