Police and Security, Vol. 33 No. 2, 2024.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.59245/ps.33.2.3
Forensic Sex Estimation of Skeletal Remains Using Frontal Bone Inclination
Željana Bašić
; Sveučilišni odjel za forenzične znanosti, Split, Hrvatska
Abstract
Sex estimation is one of the frst steps in the forensic identifcation of human skeletal remains, so it
is necessary to develop reliable methods for sex estimation for the Croatian population, taking into
consideration the population specifcity discussed in previous papers. Until now, apart from a small
number of studies, sexual dimorphism has not been investigated for the Croatian population (except for
the femur, tibia, sternum, and orbits). Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the sex dimorphism
of the frontal bone inclination in the modern Croatian population using computed tomography (MSCT)
scans. The measurement of the inclination of the frontal bone was chosen because it is also important in
the morphological sex assessment, but it has not been quantifed until now. In total, 180 MSCT images
were included in the research; that is, 180 skulls (90 men and 90 women) of known sex and age were
analyzed. The frontal (glabellar) angle - the angle enclosed by the line that passes through the glabella
parallel to the Frankfurt horizontal plane and tangent to the outline of the frontal bone- was measured.
Sexual dimorphism was tested, with the level of statistical signifcance set at P < 0.05. Discriminant
functional analysis was used to obtain a model for sex classifcation. The measurement of the inclination
of the frontal bone showed a statistically signifcant sexual dimorphism (P < 0.001). The accuracy of sex
estimation for men and women and the total sample was 91.3%. This research has shown that the sexual
dimorphism of the frontal bone inclination in the modern Croatian population is extremely pronounced
and that it can be used in forensic cases to estimate sex. The research also pointed to the importance of
using medical images in forensics and the inclusion of non-standard measures in developing standards
for sex estimation.
Keywords
sex estimation, contemporary sample, forensics, MSCT, frontal bone inclination
Hrčak ID:
317758
URI
Publication date:
19.6.2024.
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