Sex estimation on thoracic vertebrae: A systematic review

• Published in: Translational Research in Anatomy
• Main Author: Sakaran R.; Alias A.; Woon C.K.; Ku Mohd Noor K.M.; Zaidun N.H.; Zulkiflee N.D.I.; Lin N.W.; Chung E.
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier GmbH 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85151327603&doi=10.1016%2fj.tria.2023.100243&partnerID=40&md5=bbc65df8b602747f46b76b8dafdd4a44

Background: Sex determination is the crucial stage for developing a biological profile during the investigation of skeletal remains. An accurate determination of the sex of the unknown person is crucial by only a few bones or when multiple bones are missing or fractured. Thus, exploration of less commonly used bones like thoracic vertebrae is also required for the personal identification of an unknown individual. Methods: This systematic review summarized the different anthropometric methods used on human thoracic vertebrae for sex estimation. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct between 2000 and 2020. The inclusive criteria include English studies that used the anthropometric method in thoracic vertebrae for sex determination. Results: The literature search yielded 519 potentially relevant articles whereby only 22 met the inclusion criteria. This review revealed the various anthropometric methods used in thoracic vertebrae such as conventional and geometric morphometrics. Different measurements from various levels of thoracic vertebrae were used in all reviewed studies. Most of the studies showed significant differences between males and females. Conclusion: The review of all the studies revealed that T12 is the most sexually dimorphic bone among all the thoracic vertebrae. Among all the measurements from the different parts of the thoracic vertebrae, measurements from the vertebral body and pedicle revealed high accuracy of sex classification. The most advanced method in this review so far is the three-dimensional geometric morphometric method. The findings of this study may serve as a reference for future studies related to the anthropometric study of thoracic vertebrae. © 2023 The Authors